Riseberga Abbey Ruins

Fjugesta, Sweden

Riseberga Abbey was a nunnery founded by the Order of Cistercians around the year 1180. The land property of the abbey was donated by Earl Birger Brosa in 1202. After his death Brosa’s wife, Queen consort Brigida Haraldsdotter, moved to Riseberga and she was one of the most famous nuns in the abbey. Brigida has also buried there.

Riseberga became soon very rich and powerful abbey. In the 13th century it owned 224 farms, mines, churches and other properties. In 1384 it was anyway plundered, probably by mercenaries. The destruction began in 1527 when the abbey was returned to the Crown during the Reformation. Former nuns lived there until 1534. The abbey was destroyed by fire in 1546. Later abbey ruins were used to build other buildings nearby. Today only one wall stands still.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Riseberga Kloster 5012, Fjugesta, Sweden

See all sites in Fjugesta

Details

Founded: ca. 1180
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Stina Walberg (2 years ago)
Beautiful ruin, it's well taken care of and very child friendly. We loved the plants on top of the ruins, it gave the place a very homely feel. The view is beautiful.

Simon Larsson (3 years ago)
An interesting spot with plenty of signage telling about the different parts of the ruins and the history of the place (including summaries in English and German).

Kristina Kempe (3 years ago)
Follow the path through the beautiful surroundings with thousands of white sedges and verdant trees and bushes that lead to an old monastery ruin where St. Bridget is said to have lived and worked. Well worth a visit. Don't miss the theatre, which is in the other direction from the car park.

Kevin Rowland (3 years ago)
A interesting place to visit. A good picnic area. And a nice ALC (geocache).

Frej Petersson (4 years ago)
Most sacred place I have been to ?

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.