Bjälbo is a small village in Mjölby Municipality,

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 ...

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 countries, Nordic c ...

. The medieval

House of Bjelbo The House of Bjelbo ( sv, Bjälboätten), also known as the House of Folkung (''Folkungaätten''), was an Ostrogothian Swedish family that provided several medieval Swedish bishops, jarls and kings. It also provided three kings of Norway and o ...

had a church and a manor house at Bjälbo.

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

Magnus Minnesköld was probably born here, and in around 1210 his son Birger Magnusson. Today the church tower is preserved. The church was probably built in the first half of the twelfth century, reflecting new techniques brought by

Cistercian monks 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

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1143. The surviving tower was probably added around 1220. Both structures are thought to have been projects of Ingrid Ylva, mother of Birger Jarl. In 1173, King (or pretender) Kol Sverkerson was killed in a battle at Bjälbo. digitized July 9, 2008

References

Populated places in Östergötland County Populated places in Mjölby Municipality {{Östergötland-geo-stub

See also

References