Ås Abbey
Encyclopedia
Ås Abbey was a Cistercian monastery situated near the mouth of the River Viskan
Viskan
Viskan is a river in the south west of Sweden. It is about 140 kilometers long. It starts in the lake Tolken outside Ulricehamn and has its outlet in the Kattegatt. It runs through Borås. The name means Whisper River....

 into the Kattegat
Kattegat
The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutland peninsula and the Straits islands of Denmark on the west and south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden on the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Øresund and the Danish...

 in Halland
Halland
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...

, formerly part of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 but now in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, near the present hamlet of Åskloster about 14 km north of Varberg
Varberg
Varberg is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden with 26,041 inhabitants in 2005.Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their 'typical west coast' sandy beaches. In Varberg the coast changes from wide sandy beaches to rocky terrain that continues north into...

, in Varberg Municipality
Varberg Municipality
Varberg Municipality is a municipality in Halland County, in southwest Sweden. Its seat is in Varberg.It was formed in 1971 through the amalgamation of the City of Varberg and the surrounding rural municipalities...

.

The monastery was the first, largest and richest in Halland but is now one of the least known in Scandinavia.

History

Ås Abbey was founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1192 and settled in 1194 by a community from its mother house, Sorø Abbey
Sorø Abbey
Sorø Abbey was the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. It was located in the town of Sorø in central Zealand.- History :...

.

According to Kong Valdemars Jordebog King Valdemar II
Valdemar II of Denmark
Valdemar II , called Valdemar the Victorious or Valdemar the Conqueror , was the King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. The nickname Sejr is a later invention and was not used during the King's own lifetime...

 (1170-1241) gave the new monastery the royal farm of Ås (the exact location of which is no longer certain). The abbey was eventually the owner of about 250 farms and estates.

The abbey enjoyed great standing and prestige: two or three children of Magnus Eriksson, King of Sweden
Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus Eriksson as Magnus IV was king of Sweden , including Finland, as Magnus VII King of Norway , including Iceland and Greenland, and also ruled Scania . He has also vindictively been called Magnus Smek...

 (1316-1374) and his queen, Blanka of Namur
Blanka of Namur
Blanche of Namur was queen-consort of Sweden and Norway, as the spouse of King Magnus Eriksson. She was the eldest daughter of John I, Marquis of Namur and Marie of Artois.-Marriage:...

, were buried here.

Ås Abbey was closed in the early 16th century and the buildings were destroyed during the Count's Feud
Count's Feud
The Count's Feud , also called the Count's War, was a civil war that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark...

in 1535.

There are no visible ruins, apart from two mounds, and the site lies buried under the later Åskloster farm buildings. The site of the monastery was found im May 2010 and the homepage of the project group is in swedish but there are a lot of photos: http://askloster.web.surftown.se/

Abbots

  • 1194- unknown
  • 1238-1241 Th[omas?]
  • 1259 [Nicolaus - formerly abbot of Sorø, possibly abbot of Ås)
  • 1343-1350 Andreas
  • 1362-1378 Petrus
  • 1379-1386 Johannes Mattisson
  • 1386-1392 Niels (Nicolaus) Clemensen
  • 1392 Nicolas Johannis (Pr[o]fessus)
  • 1393 Niels (the same as Nicolas Johannis?)
  • 1396-1398 Sven
  • 1403?-1405? Nicolaus (Niels)
  • 1403?-1405? Peter
  • 1406? Nicolaus
  • 1408-1458 Peter Thuwasson
  • 1462-1481 Lindorm
  • 1491-1492 Anders Bengtsson
  • 1498 Anders Nilsson
  • 1514-1532 Mats (Mattias) Eriksson

Sources and external links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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