Gudhem Abbey Ruins

Falköping, Sweden

Gudhem Abbey, (Gudhems kloster), in operation from 1152 to 1529, was a nunnery in Sweden, initially Benedictine and later Cistercian. It is considered to have been one of the oldest convents in Sweden, after Vreta Abbey (1100) and Alvastra Abbey (1143).

Gudhem, a name signifying "Home of the Gods", was according to tradition a holy place of worship already before Christianity. According to the saga, one hundred images of the thunder god Thor was placed in Gudhem. According to a popular legend, Gudhem Abbey was founded in 1052 by Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir, Queen Dowager of Sweden and Denmark, who returned to a life of penitence in her estate in Västergötland in Sweden, after her marriage with king Svein II of Denmark was annulled by the Church. In reality, however, the Abbey was founded exactly one hundred years later, in 1152. Charles VII of Sweden donated the royal estate of Gudhem Manor to the Abbey during his reign (1161-1167), and the nunnery was by then described as newly established.

Gudhem Abbey was a prestigious during the 13th century, when it was responsible for providing the Pilgrims of Nidaros with hospitality. The Swedish Queen Dowager Catherine of Ymseborg entered the abbey in the mid 13th century and donated her wast estates to it. During the reformation in 1527, the abbey was confiscated by the crown, and the year after, it was granted to the knight Nils Olofsson. The former nuns, however, were granted an allowance from the properties formerly belonging to the abbey and the right to live in the building for life. In 1529, the abbey caught fire and burned down. The last abbess asked the King to rebuilt the abbey, but her request was not granted, and the nuns was housed by the surrounding peasantry. They continued to be supported by the allowance granted them in 1527. There were still former nuns benefiting from the allowance living in the surroundings of the former abbey in 1540. The abbey was never rebuilt again, and the ruins were used as a quarry.

In the late 17th century, the walls of the church was still in original height. The ruins was excavated in 1928-1969. Gudhem Abbey is the inspiration of the nunnery in The Knight Templar (Crusades trilogy), were the character Cecelia is imprisoned.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

2685, Falköping, Sweden
See all sites in Falköping

Details

Founded: 1152
Category: Religious sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Anderson Leal (4 months ago)
Great to visit God's home
Stefan Jernberg (5 months ago)
Cloister ruin from the 1100 hundreds. Excavated in early 1900. Nice place for a short stop to understand Nordic history. 4000 years younger than the pyramids, some perspective.
Chrishatheya Victor (17 months ago)
Best for nature and history lovers. Easy to enter to this beautiful place and can use the public transportation too. They have toilet too. The most important is the place is have a historical record and please check the notice board in each place while you visit.
Minna Backman (2 years ago)
Place for each history lover. Need though a non rainy day to be it’s best.
Mikael Nylander (3 years ago)
Quaint little church next to the ruin of a cloister from 1100 AD. Well worth a visit.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.