Kärkna Abbey (; or ''Valkenau''), now ruined, was a former

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, 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 Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Situation

The monastery was sited about 8 km north of

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

(formerly Dorpat) in the village of Lammiku near the point where the Amme River flows into the

Emajõgi The Emajõgi (; meaning 'mother river') is a river in Estonia which flows from Võrtsjärv, Lake Võrtsjärv through Tartu County into Lake Peipus, crossing the city of Tartu for . It has a length of . The Emajõgi is sometimes called the Suur E ...

River.

History

The monastery was founded before 1233 by the Bishop of Dorpat, Hermann von Buxhoeveden, and settled by monks from Pforta Abbey, of the filiation of Morimond. An early destruction by heathen inhabitants of the district is mentioned in 1234. After attacks by Russian forces from the principality of

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

Suzdal Suzdal (, ) is a Types of inhabited localities in Russia, town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located along the Kamenka tributary of the Nerl (Klyazma), Nerl River, north o ...

and the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

it was rebuilt in about 1240 as a fortress surrounded by a moat and a rectangular granite wall. In 1305 it was placed under Stolpe Abbey on the

Peene The Peene (; ) is a river in Germany. Geography The Westpeene, with the Ostpeene as its longer tributary, and the Kleine Peene/Teterower Peene (with a ''Peene '' without specification (or ''Nordpeene'') as its smaller and shorter affluent) f ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

, which had joined the

order the previous year. In August 1558 the monastery was destroyed at the beginning of the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

. There are remains of the foundations and of the perimeter walls.

Buildings

The rectangular church was about 47 metres long, and consisted of a single nave of five vaulted bays. Unusually for a Cistercian church it also had a crypt of 10 bays containing two aisles, which was used not only as a place of burial but also as a place of shelter during hostilities. To the south of the church were attached the conventual buildings in the usual form of three ranges arranged in a square round a cloister and a central courtyard, with the

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

in the east range.

List of abbots

* P. - 1234 * Godefridus - 1253 * B. - 1264 * Winandus - 1277–1288 * Daniel - 1295–1298 * Johannes de Hapsele - before 1304 * Dithmarus - 1304–1308 * Hermannus - 1327–1336 * Everhardus - 1346 * Johannes - 1354 * Albertus - 1388–1397 * Bertoldus - 1411–1433 * Gotfrid Mäke - 1462–1466 * Johannes - 1484 * Lambert - 1504–1525 * Christoph Hogenstein - 1528–1535 * Gerardus - 1538–1540 *

Hermann Wesel Hermann Wesel (died June 1563) was a German ecclesiastic in Livonia, and the last Roman Catholic Bishop of Dorpat (Tartu). Life Hermann Wesel is presumed to have originated from Wesel on the Lower Rhine. His father is supposed to have been a sh ...

- 1544–1558 (also Bishop of Dorpat from 1554)

References

* Dimier, M.-Anselme, 1971: ''L'art cistercien hors de France'', p. 49, with plan. La Pierre-qui-Vire: Zodiaque * Schneider, Ambrosius, 1986: ''Lexikale Übersicht der Männerklöster der Cistercienser im deutschen Sprach- und Kulturraum'', in: Schneider, Ambrosius; Wienand, Adam; Bickel, Wolfgang; Coester, Ernst (eds): ''Die Cistercienser, Geschichte – Geist – Kunst'' (3rd edn), p. 654. Cologne: Wienand Verlag * Tuulse, A., 1942: ''Die Burgen in Estland und Lettland'', pp. 270–274. Dorpat {{DEFAULTSORT:Karkna Abbey Cistercian monasteries in Estonia Christian monasteries established in the 1230s Tartu Parish Buildings and structures in Tartu County Ruins in Estonia 1558 disestablishments

Situation

History

Buildings

List of abbots

See also

References