Sancta Birgitta Klostermuseum was inaugurated in 2003 in a unique historical building in Vadstena on the shores of Lake Vättern. It was built in the 1260s as a royal palace for the powerful Folkunga dynasty that ruled Sweden for over a hundred years. In 1346, the royal estate was donated to the church and turned into Vadstena monastery, founded by Saint Birgitta as the mother monastery of the Birgittine Order.
The monastery was closed in 1595 with the Reformation. After being the nuns' residence, the museum building then functioned in later centuries as housing for war veterans and as a mental hospital. In the 1950s and 60s, the house was investigated and restored to its current appearance.
The monastery museum is part of the monastery area in Vadstena, with neighbours such as the monastery church, Pilgrimscentrum, the Birgit sisters, hotel and folk high school. Everyone contributes to preserving the unique cultural environment in the area. Here you can also find the Monk Garden with old fruit trees and the monastery lilies that bloom beautifully every spring.
Visiting the Klostermuseet is an opportunity to step right into history in one of Sweden's oldest buildings. Here you will learn about important parts of our common history from the Middle Ages to today, and about the people who populated the house for 750 years.
Here you will find all the information about Sancta Birgitta Klostermuseum!
