Værne Kloster is a manor and former

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 Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

in the municipality of

Rygge Rygge was a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. It was merged into Moss municipality on 1 January 2020. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rygge. Rygge was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see fo ...

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

, Norway. Today only ruins of the monastery remain. Originally a

Kongsgård () is a residence, estate, or farmland that has belonged to or still belongs to the Scandinavian monarchs or royal families. History During the Viking Age and early Middle Ages, the nations of Scandinavia were organized as frail political uni ...

estate, King

Sverre of Norway Sverre Sigurdsson () (c. 1145/1151 – 9 March 1202) was the king of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history. He assumed power as the leader of the rebel party known as the Birkebeiner i ...

established a

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

abbey at Værne around 1200. The facility also served as hospital for the king's army until 1308, when King

Haakon V Haakon V Magnusson (10 April 1270 – 8 May 1319) (; ) was King of Norway from 1299 until 1319. Biography Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Through his mother ...

established a hospital for this purpose at

St Mary's Church, Oslo St. Mary's Church () was a medieval church located in Oslo, Norway. The church ruins are located in Middelalderparken near the neighborhood of Sørenga in the borough of Gamlebyen. History St. Mary's Church had been built of stone in stages ...

. Værne monastery was also a place of pilgrimage. The abbey was disestablished and placed under the crown in 1532. The buildings were burned down in 1570 in connection with the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War,'' the ''Seven Years' War of the North'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), K ...

. The manor with adjacent farms was leased until 1675, when it was privatized. Later owners of Værne Kloster included

Valentin Christian Wilhelm Sibbern Valentin Christian Wilhelm Sibbern (19 September 1779 – 1 January 1853) was a Norway, Norwegian government minister and representative at the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly. Biography Valentin Christian Wilhelm Sibbern was born on the Værn ...

Georg Sibbern Georg Christian Sibbern (29 March 1816 – 4 October 1901) was a Norwegian diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Norway. Background He was born at Rygge in Østfold. He was the son of Valentin Sibbern (1779–1853) and Anne Cathrine de ...

. The first antiquarian study of the ruins was made in 1812 by Lorentz Diderich Kluwer (1750- 1820).

References

Farms in Østfold Rygge Ruins in Norway Church ruins in Norway Archaeological sites in Norway {{Norway-church-stub