Varnhem Abbey ( sv, Varnhems kloster) in

Varnhem Varnhem is a locality situated in Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 707 inhabitants in 2010. Varnhem is the location of the oldest known stone church in Sweden outside of Scania, erected in the 1040s at the latest. It is ...

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

was founded around 1150 by

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s of the

Cistercian Order The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

from

Alvastra Abbey Alvastra Abbey (''Alvastra klosterruin'') was a Cistercian monastery located at Alvastra in Östergötland, Sweden. History Alvastra monastery was founded in 1143 by French monks who belonged to the Cistercian Order. A number of monks and lay br ...

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

. The Cistercian Order used the same

floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...

for all its

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

s, which makes it possible to easily locate the different rooms and halls regardless of the building site.

History

wooden Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

and a stone

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

were both erected on the site before the abbey was built. The stone church was erected in the 1040s at the latest, and is the oldest known stone church in

(excluding

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...

). According to

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...

, the oldest

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

man buried there died in the period 780-970. From other radiocarbon evidence, the Christian burials seem to have begun during the 10th century. A rich lady named Sigrid, probably a widow, donated the property to the cistercian monks, but

the queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

tried to revoke the donation and instead seize the property herself. The queen's attempts failed and the monks established the abbey in 1150.Varnhem - Klosterstaden: Historiska personer
. (Swedish). Retrieved on October 8, 2008. The Varnhem Abbey was sponsored by the

House of Eric The House of Eric ( sv, Erikska ätten) was a medieval Swedish royal dynasty with several pretenders to the throne between 1150 and 1220, rivaling for kingship of Sweden with the House of Sverker. The first king from the House of Eric was Eric ...

which in turn was granted burial privileges there. Three kings from the House of Eric lie buried in the abbey church:

Canute I of Sweden Old Norse: ''Knútr Eiríksson'' , birth_date = Before 1150 , death_date = 1195/96 , house = Eric , father = Eric IX "the Saint" of Sweden , mother = Christina Bjornsdatter , spouse = Cecilia Johansdotter of Sw ...

Eric X of Sweden Eric "X" (Swedish: ''Erik Knutsson''; Old Norse: ''Eiríkr Knútsson''; – 10 April 1216) was the King of Sweden between 1208 and 1216. Also known as ''Eric the Survivor'' (Swedish: "Erik som överlevde"), he was, at his accession to the thro ...

and

Eric XI of Sweden Eric "XI" the Lisp and Lame Swedish: ''Erik Eriksson'' or ''Erik läspe och halte''; Old Norse: ''Eiríkr Eiríksson'' (1216 – 2 February 1250) was king of Sweden in 1222–29 and 1234–50. Being the last ruler of the House of Eric, he stood ...

.Varnhem - Klosterstaden: Klosterstaden/Kunglig gravkyrka
. (Swedish). Retrieved on October 8, 2008. In 1234, the abbey was

ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

ed by fire. The catastrophe led to a period of blooming, since

Birger jarl Birger Jarl, also known as ''Birger Magnusson'' (21 October 1266), was a Swedish statesman, ''jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, whi ...

and other mediaeval financiers rebuilt the abbey, this time more beautiful and imposing. The abbey church, which at first had been built in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

, was completed in

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

after the fire. In 1260 there was an opening ceremony for the church, which was the largest in Sweden at the time."Varnhems Klosterkyrka" - brochure from Varnhems församling. (2003) (Swedish). The abbey's property was confiscated in 1527 in accordance with the

Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden The Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden, was an important reform during the Protestant Swedish Reformation, in which king Gustav I of Sweden ordered a reduction in church property and the return of land to the crown, making the national church dependent ...

, and the abbey buildings were burned by

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

forces 1566 during the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck, and Polan ...

. In the middle of the 17th century, Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie received the abbey as a gift from the Swedish queen Christina. De la Gardie restored the church and established a family mausoleum in it, while the remaining abbey buildings were left to decay. The church was thoroughly restored 1911–1923. Archeological

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

of the central part of the abbey were made 1921–1929, and again 1976 and 1977. In May 2002, the grave of Birger jarl was opened. The scientific analysis that followed, strengthened the belief that the three skeletons in the grave are the remains of Birger jarl, his son duke Eric Birgersson and Birger's wife

Mechtild of Holstein Matilda of Holstein or Mechthild (1220 or 1225 – 1288 in Kiel) was a Danish queen consort, married to King Abel of Denmark and later to Birger Jarl, Regent of Sweden. Life Matilda was the daughter of Adolf IV, Count of Holstein, and Hei ...

. Today, only the abbey church remains standing, surrounded by ruins. The number of tourists visiting Varnhem has grown manyfold due to

Jan Guillou Jan Oskar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou (, ; born 17 January 1944) is a French-Swedish author and journalist. Guillou's fame in Sweden was established during his time as an investigative journalist, most notably in 1973 when he and co-reporter Pet ...

's books about Arn.

Buried in Varnhem

Inge the Elder Inge the Elder (Swedish: ''Inge Stenkilsson''; Old Norse: ''Ingi Steinkelsson''; died c. 1105–1110) was a king of Sweden. In English literature he has also been called ''Ingold''. While scant sources do not allow us to paint a full picture of hi ...

(oral tradition, if so moved later to

Vreta Abbey Vreta Abbey ( sv, Vreta kloster), in operation from the beginning of the 12th century to 1582, was the first nunnery in Sweden, initially Benedictine and later Cistercian, and one of the oldest in Scandinavia. It was located in the present-day m ...

) *

Birger Jarl Birger Jarl, also known as ''Birger Magnusson'' (21 October 1266), was a Swedish statesman, ''jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, whi ...

, his wife, Dowager Queen Matilda of Denmark, and his son

Eric Birgersson Duke Erik Birgersson (c. 1250 – 17 December 1275) was a Swedish duke of the House of Bjelbo (''Folkungaätten''). Biography His father was Birger Magnusson (''Birger Jarl''), Jarl of Sweden and de facto ruler of Sweden from 1250–6 ...

Björn Näf Bjorn (English, Dutch), Björn (Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, and German), Bjørn (Danish, Faroese and Norwegian), Beorn (Old English) or, rarely, Bjôrn, Biorn, or Latinized Biornus, Brum (Portuguese), is a Scandinavian male given name, or less oft ...

, knight, royal advisor, and teacher of

Magnus Ladulås Magnus III ( 1240 – 18 December 1290), also called Magnus Ladulås, was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290. Name He was the ''first Magnus'' to rule Sweden for any length of time, not generally regarded as a usurper or ...

in the 13th century * Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, his wife Princess Maria Euphrosyne, their son Gustaf Adolf and Gustaf Adolf's wife Elisabeth Oxenstierna

Literature

* Swedish National Heritage Board's registry of buildingsbr>Fornsök

References

{{Catholic Church in Sweden Cistercian monasteries in Sweden 12th-century establishments in Sweden Ruins in Sweden Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Buildings and structures in Västra Götaland County Tourist attractions in Västra Götaland County Churches in Västra Götaland County 1527 disestablishments Medieval Sweden Monasteries dissolved under the Swedish Reformation Burial sites of Swedish royal houses Burial sites of the House of Bjelbo Burial sites of the House of Eric Burial sites of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken

History

Buried in Varnhem

See also

Literature

References