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Founded: ca. 1250Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)
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The Franciscan Monastery in Enköping was built during the 1200s, probably around 1250. The founder is alleged to have been a Peter Olai from Roskilde. In a letter to the monastery from 1275 Master Palne asks to be buried there, when his wife is already buried in the monastery. For this, he promises a large sum of money, a boat and a tent as gifts to the monastery. The monastery was reconstructed several times during the Middle Ages. The single nave church was built first and enlarged later.
in 1530 Gustav Vasa of Sweden wrote a letter to the monastery, where he ordered it to operate as a hospital for poor lepers. The letter also states that the monks are not obliged to stay, but if they want to help patients they are allowed to stay. Hospital was moved later in the 1530s back to Stockholm, and the monastery's operations may have ceased completely around 1540, probably due to the Reformation.
Monastery buildings were demolished finally in the 1600s, but parts of the monastery was used still in the manufacturing of gunpowder. In the 1930s excavations revealed the remains of the monastery. Towards the end of the 1980s an extensive renovation of the park area was undertaken. The place of the monastery is marked by a large brown cross and stones.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.