Ås Abbey

Ås Abbey (Danish: Ås Kloster; Latin: Asylum) was a Cistercian monastery situated near the present village of Åskloster about 14 km north of Varberg, in Varberg Municipality. It was located near the mouth of the River Viskan into the Kattegat in Halland, formerly part of Denmark but now in Sweden^[1]

History

Ås Abbey was founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1192 and settled in 1194 by a community from its mother house, Sorø Abbey. The monastery was the first, largest and richest in Halland.^[2]

According to Kong Valdemars Jordebog, King Valdemar II (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 (1316–1374) and his queen, Blanka of Namur, were buried here.^[3]

Ås Abbey was closed in the early 16th century and the buildings were destroyed during the Count's Feud in 1535. There are no visible ruins and the site lies buried under the manor house Åsklosters kungsgård. The manor house was built between 1806 and 1813 on the basis of plans originally drawn by Swedish architect Carl Hårleman (1700–1753).^[4]^[5]

The exact location of the monastery buildings was uncertain for a long time since there are no visible ruins above ground on site. In 2009–2010, the Swedish National Heritage Board carried out a survey of the area. The analysis revealed underground remains. A small area was excavated by archaeological excavation. Parts of the monastery's eastern length and an extension to it from the 13th-14th century were exposed. In 2011, the southeast part of the monastery was excavated where there was a room with a stone floor. ^[6]

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

References

^ "Ås kloster". Historiskt-geografiskt och statistiskt lexikon öfver Sverige. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
^ Ann-Marie Skogsberg, 2005: Ås kloster - cisterciensernas asylum i Halland, pp.9-10. Södertälje: ISBN 91-7040-044-X
^ Nordisk familjebok, 1800-talsutgåvan, p. 461.
^ "Åsklosters Kungsgård". Riksantikvarieämbetet. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
^ "Carl Hårleman". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
^ "Ås kloster". stewegee. Retrieved July 1, 2020.