History
The nunnery was given large donations and lands upon its foundation by King Magnus III of Sweden. King Magnus also gave his daughter Princess Richeza Magnusdotter of Sweden to the nunnery. She was to serve as its abbess in 1335–1347. The priory was not, however, exclusively for aristocrats, as some other convents were: rather, many of the members and even abbesses were from the merchant class.
The St. Clare's Priory had a close cooperation with the Grey Friar's Abbey, Stockholm, and there is an old legend that they were a secret passage between the two convents. The priory enjoyed prestige. In 1358, it was relieved from all taxes even during crisis. In 1495, when the regent Sten Sture the elder prepared to go to war against Russia, the Arch bishop Jakob Ulfsson of Uppsala asked to bring along the banner of Saint Erik, which was then brought from Uppsala and installed in the priory under great festivities. In 1497, king John, King of Denmark swore his oath as monarch here before the city of Stockholm was turned over to him. However, after the great fire of 1446, the priory was unable to quite recover economically, and by 1508, it was still in a poor state.
During the Swedish War of Liberation of 1521–23, Danish-controlled Stockholm was under siege by the Swedes. The abbess of the nunnery, Anna Leuhusen, offered to allow Swedes living in Stockholm to safely escape the Danes by exiting the city through the nunnery. When they arrived to the nunnery, however, she signaled the Danish authorities, and the refugees were executed as traitors. In June 1523, Stockholm was retaken by the Swedes and made capital of the independent Kingdom of Sweden. In 1525, Elin Thomasdotter is noted to have replaced Anna Leuhusen as abbess.
Dissolution
The St. Clare's Priory was to be one of the first convents to be dissolved in accordance with the Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden during the Swedish Reformation in 1527. This has been contributed to the acts of Anna Leuhusen during the war, for which the King felt vengeful [1] The nuns were allowed to do as they pleased. Former Abbess Anna Leuhusen and the rest of the nuns was allowed to settle in the Grey Friar's Abbey of Riddarholmen, which had been dissolved the same year left empty by the monks. There, they worked as nurses the rest of their lives. Edelina, believed to have been the last of the nuns, died in the Danviken Hospital in 1573.
The building was demolished as the stones were needed to fortify the city walls. The stones from the nunnery were used to build the Birger Jarls torn (Birger Jarl's Tower). Present-day Klara Church in Stockholm lies on the same spot that the priory and its church once did.
Magnus III was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290.
The Abbey of Our Lady and of St. Bridget, more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Order. The abbey started on one of the farms donated to it by the king, but the town of Vadstena grew up around it. It was active from 1346 until 1595.
Cecilia Månsdotter Eka also called Cecilia of Eka, was a Swedish noblewoman. She was the spouse of Erik Johansson Vasa and mother of King Gustav I of Sweden.
Catherine Karlsdotter, in Swedish called Katarina Karlsdotter and later Katarina Gumsehuvud was Queen of Sweden from 1448 to 1450 and Queen of Norway from 1449 to 1450 as the second wife of Charles VIII / I.
Brita Olovsdotter Tott or Birgitte Olufsdatter Thott, was a Danish and Swedish noble, landowner and royal county administrator She was judged for treason and for the forgery of seals. She was one of the biggest landowners in Scandinavia, and her estates played a role in politics in Sweden and Denmark.
Anna Rheinholdsdotter Leuhusen, was the Abbess of St. Clare's Priory in Stockholm. She became known for her involvement in the Swedish War of Liberation between Sweden and Denmark in the 1520s.
Brita Sophia De la Gardie was a Swedish noble and amateur actress who later converted to Catholicism and became a nun. She was a central member of the cultural life in Stockholm in her time. She played a part in the history of Swedish theatre. She was the maternal aunt of Count Axel von Fersen the Younger.
Vendela Skytte was a Swedish noblewoman, salonist and writer, poet and Lady of Letters. During her lifetime, she became an ideal and role model for a learned female scholar.
Euphrosyne (Euphrosina) Löf was a Swedish ballet dancer and stage actress, best known for her affair with Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden from 1795 to 1800, after his relationship with Sophie Hagman. Euphrosyne Löf acted as his hostess at Tullgarn.
Ingrid Persdotter was a Swedish nun at the convent of Saint Birgitta in Vadstena. She is famous for having written passionate love letters to a knight named Axel Nilsson in 1498.
Christina Hansadotter Brask, or Christin Hansadotter, was a Swedish writer and translator, and a member of the Bridgettine Order in Vadstena Abbey.
Christina Nilsdotter was a Swedish singer and song teacher. She was a member of the Bridgettine Order in Vadstena Abbey and well known as an artist for her ability and talent.
Rikissa Magnusdotter of Sweden was a Swedish princess. She was the daughter of King Magnus III of Sweden and his Queen consort Hedwig of Holstein. At the age of six, she was entrusted to the nuns at St. Clara Priory in Stockholm. The nunnery had been given large donations and lands upon its foundation by King Magnus. Rikissa was the abbess of St. Clara Priory from at least 1335 until her death in 1348.
Gerdeka Hartlevsdotter, or Hartlefsdotter, also called Gerdica (1370–1438), was a Swedish Bridgettine nun. She was the abbess of Vadstena Abbey from 1403 until 1422.
Sko Abbey, was a Cistercian nunnery in Sweden, in operation from 1230 until at least 1588. It was located in the Skokloster parish in Uppland. It was the predecessor of the baroque Skokloster Castle.
Riseberga Abbey, was a Cistercian nunnery in Sweden, in operation from circa 1180 until 1534. It was located near Fjugesta in Närke. It had the right to appoint the vicar of the Edsberg parish, which was under the jurisdiction of the abbey. The ruins of the buildings are preserved, and the Amphitheatre of the abbey are presently used as a Sylvan theater.
St. John's Priory, Kalmar, commonly known simply as Kalmar Nunnery, was a Roman Catholic convent for women of the Dominican Order in Kalmar in Sweden, in operation from 1299 until 1505.
Skänninge Abbey, also known as St. Ingrid's Priory, St. Martin's Priory or Skänninge Nunnery, was a Roman Catholic convent for females of the Dominican Order in Skänninge in Sweden, in operation from 1272 until 1544. It was founded by Saint Ingrid of Skänninge, and the center of her cult, and as such, it was often referred to as St. Ingrid's Priory. Located near the church dedicated to Martin of Tours, it was originally named St. Martin's Priory, though this name was rarely used in practice. The common name for it was Skänninge Abbey, but as there was also a convent for male members of the Dominican Order in Skänninge, it was often called Skänninge Nunnery to separate it from the male monastery.
Askeby Abbey was a Cistercian nunnery in operation from the late 12th century until 1529. It was located in Askeby outside Linköping, Sweden.
