Munkaþverá (; also transliterated as ''Munkathvera'') was a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Eyjafjörður Eyjafjörður (, ''Island Fjord'') is one of the longest fjords in Iceland. It is located in the central north of the country. Situated by the fjord is the country's fourth most populous municipality, Akureyri. Physical geography The fjord is ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. It was established around 1155 and was abolished when the country became Protestant in 1550. The monastery is best known about its early Abbot Níkulás Bergsson and his famous publication ''

Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan ''Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan'' ("A Guide and List of Cities") is an itinerary written by Níkulás Bergsson (a.k.a. Nikolaos), the abbot of the monastery of Þverá in Eyjafjörður, Northern Iceland. It is a guidebook for pilgrims about th ...

'', which was basically a guidebook for pilgrims about the routes from Northern Europe to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The monastery once was the home of such heroes of saga literature as Einar Þveræingur, '' Víga-Glúms'' and Bergur Sokkason. It is believed to be the burial place of

Sighvatur Sturluson Sighvatr Sturluson (Old Norse: ; given name also ''Sigvatr'' ; Modern Icelandic: ''Sighvatur Sturluson'' ; c. 1170 – 1238) was a skaldic poet, ''goði'' and member of the Icelandic Sturlungar clan. His parents were Sturla Þórðarson of Hv ...

and his sons who died in the

Battle of Örlygsstaðir The Battle of Örlygsstaðir was a historic battle fought by members of the Sturlungar family against the Ásbirningar and the Haukdælir clans in northern Iceland. The battle was part of the civil war that was taking place in Iceland at the t ...

. The current church in Munkaþverá was built in 1844. In front of the church, there is a memorial dedicated to

Jón Arason Jón Arason (1484 – November 7, 1550) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic bishop and poet, who was executed in his struggle against the Reformation in Iceland. Background Jón Arason was born in Gryta, educated at Munkaþverá, the Benedictine ...

, who attended the monastery and did his studies there.

External links

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Munkaþverá church
Benedictine monasteries in Iceland Christian monasteries established in the 1150s 1155 establishments in Europe 1550 disestablishments in Europe Churches completed in 1844 12th-century establishments in Iceland Monasteries dissolved under the Icelandic Reformation Eyjafjörður {{Iceland-church-stub