Vadstena Abbey, located on the shores of Lake Vättern in Östergötland, Sweden, was the principal monastery of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour, commonly known as the Bridgettine Order, founded by Saint Bridget of Sweden. Planned in the 14th century as a double monastery, it housed communities of nuns and monks governed by an abbess.
The monastery was founded in 1346, when King Magnus Eriksson and Queen Blanche of Namur donated the royal palace at Vadstena for the new religious foundation. After papal approval of Bridget’s rule in 1370, the monastery was consecrated in 1384. During the Middle Ages, Vadstena became the main spiritual centre of Sweden and the mother house of several Bridgettine monasteries across Europe, including Syon Abbey in England, Naantali in Finland, and Danzig.
When the relics of Saint Bridget were brought to Vadstena in 1374, the monastery quickly became a major pilgrimage destination. The community also gained renown for its manuscripts, liturgical textiles, and scholarly work, supported by a library that was probably the largest in medieval Scandinavia.
Following the Protestant Reformation in Sweden (1527), the monastery gradually declined. New novices were no longer accepted and monastic lands were confiscated by the Crown. In 1595, the monastery was officially closed and the remaining nuns departed for Poland.
After centuries of different uses, the Bridgettine tradition returned to Vadstena in 1935. In 1963, a new monastery was established nearby, Sankta Birgittas Abbey Pax Mariæ, which remains active today. Since 2025, Vadstena Abbey has been included in the Swedish cultural canon.
- Address
Lasarettsgatan 5, 592 30 Vadstena, Sweden - Web
https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/vadstena/klosterkyrkan - Visiting Hours
Monday to Thursday from 8:00 to 16:00 h, Friday from 8:00 to 19:00, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00. to 16:00 - What to see
The relics of Saint Bridget, the Abbey Church (Blåkyrkan or “Blue Church”), the modern Pax Mariæ monastery
