Sweden - Alvastra kloster

Alvastra Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks from Clairvaux in France in the year of 1143 after a donation of land from King Sverker I of Sweden. It was the first Cistercian settlement in Sweden. The monastery is one of the oldest and was the largest of the country.

Alvastra Abbey flourished for nearly 400 years, but after the Swedish Lutheran reformation in the 1530s, the monastery was demolished, never to be rebuilt. Construction materials - limestone from the nearby Omberg - were used among other things for building Vadstena Castle.

The ruins have been restored and preserved in several phases. Nowadays it is one of the most important cultural sights in the province of Östergötland and open for visitors.