Askeby Nunnery 

The nunnery of Askeby was situated by the ancient road going from Söderköping towards the central parts of the province of Östergötland, about a kilometre west of the wade at Vadet. This location was essential in helping the village of Askeby develop into an important site, of which the kings wished to gain control. In the 12th century one of the king’s mansions, often simply referred to as “the Courtyard”, was built here.

The church and the nunnery were built by kings as well. The nunnery, eventually following the doctrine of the Cistercian order, was founded in the middle of the 12th century and existed for almost 400 years. After the reformation in the 16th century it was gradually destroyed and the stones were used to build castles and fortresses in for example Vadstena, the town where Saint Bridget, one of the patron saints of Europe, founded her famous convent. The remnants of the walls are visible today as subterranean elevations near the church. The recent digital visualisation of the nunnery shows that it was built in a rectangular pattern, as were the rest of the convents of the time. grundmönster. 

Välkommen till Askeby

The nunnery of Askeby has been fairly anonymous for a long time, despite its vicinity to the town of Linkoping, the centre of the diocese. Its cathedral was built at approximately the same time as the nunnery of Askeby. Efforts have been made to spread knowledge of the nunnery but it soon became obvious that its surroundings had to be visualised more clearly, preferably using modern technology.  

The people forming part of the project group of the Askeby nunnery have been trying to recreate the environment of the 15th century nunnery, using interactive computer visualisation. This means that the visitor is able to use a large database and visit and explore the different surroundings of the nunnery using pre- programmed computer systems.