Scotland Melrose Abbey

Slowly grew around the abbey a small town. In 1322 the city was attacked by Edward II of England and large parts of the abbey were destroyed. It was later rebuilt with the help of Robert the Bruce.

In 1385 the monastery was burned down by the army of Richard II of England when he pushed the army of David II of Scotland back to Edinburgh. Over a period of 100 years the abbey was rebuilt - construction was not yet complete when James IV of Scotland arrived for inspection in 1504.

In 1544, when English troops again hunted through Scotland, the abbey was severely damaged and never fully restored. This led to its decline as an inhabited monastery. The last abbot was James Stuart, the son of James V. who died in 1559. In 1590 the last monk of Melrose Abbey died.

The abbey buildings survived a final attack by Oliver Cromwell, who bombed them during the English Civil War. Traces of this can still be seen in the exterior walls today.

In 1858 Theodor Fontane visited the abbey and described it in his travelogue Jenseit des Tweed.