- Utstein Abbey
Utstein Abbey (in Norwegian Utstein Kloster) is
Norway 's best-preservedmedieval monastery , located on the island ofMosterøy inRennesøy municipality,Rogaland county.History
The abbey, dedicated to
Saint Laurence , was founded in its present location in the reign of King Magnus VI of Norway (Magnus Lagabøte) (1263-1280). It was a house ofAugustinian Canons . It appears however that this community was the one previously established asSt. Olav's Abbey, Stavanger , one of the earliest Augustinian monasteries in Norway if not the very earliest: the exact date of its foundation is unknown, but it was well-established by 1160.At its height, about 20–30 monks lived there, with twice as many lay people working on the building, the cooking and the farming. The abbey owned extensive lands, and could feed about 250 people a year.
It was dissolved in 1537 in the
Reformation and was givenin fee to Trond Ivarsson, after which it served as a private residence for many years.Present-day
Utstein Abbey is the best-preserved monastery in the whole of
Norway , still using both the church and the eastern and southern part of the ground floor of the conventual buildings. In 1900-1904 major restoration work was carried out on the church, and in 1965 work on the remaining buildings was completed. The premises are now used for a conference centre, museum, concert hall and a variety of educational and leisure purposes.The abbey can be reached from
Stavanger in 30 minutes by road through the Rennfast undersea tunnel.
=External links
* [http://www.utstein-kloster.no/index.cfm Utstein Abbey website, with images] no icon
* [http://kart.gulesider.no/kart/map.c?startId=a_10000365257&imgt=MAP&stopId=a_10000058821 Route from Stavanger] no icon
* [http://www.katolsk.no/artikler/middelalderkloster/kap_15.htm Norges kloster in middelalderen: Utstein] no iconReferences
* Fischer, G. (1965): "Utstein kloster. Kongsgård - kloster - herregård". Stavanger.
* Lexow, J. H. (1987): "Utstein kloster i middelalderen". I: FNFB. Årbok 1987.
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