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Munkeby monastery
The ruins are the remains of the monastery church. Munkeby monastery
belonged most probably to the Cistercian order, and was founded before 1180.
The monastery functioned only for a short period of time, before it became a
part of the estate of a new Cistercian monastery at Tautra, founded in 1207.
The church at Munkeby was used until 1589, but was later damaged by fire and
fell into decay. |
The church, in Cistercian style, has a long rectangular nave and choir with
the same width, and chapels towards the north and south. 1t measures ca. 31
x 7,4 meters inside.
The ruins were excavated and the walls were restored in 1906 - 1910. Traces
of buildings have been registered on the southern side of the church. This
shows that the monastery was built around a Square yard. |
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Three miles from the centre of Levanger, on the banks of the River Levanger,
are to be found the ruins of a church. Local tradition maintained that these
ruins were the remnants of a monastery which had given its name to the
surrounding area - Munkby (Monks Farm). This tradition had been regarded
whit scepticism by both historians and archaeologists alike. However in
1906, while studying in the Vat,can Archives, A. Bugge found conclusive
proof of the existence of a cistercian monastery located at Munkby in Frol.
Munkby monastery was probably the world's most northern roman catholic
monastery. |
The monastery was founded in the middle of the twelfth century by monks from
the English branch of the order. However the monastery at Munkby soon fell
into disuse and was placed under the administration of the monastery at
Tautra, which had been established in 1207. In 1470 the monk Stephanus de
Trygge attempted to re-establish the monastery at Munkby but was
unsuccessful. For the next hundred years the monastery-church served as the
local parish church. It would appear that the building was damaged by fire
on at least one occasion, evidence of which can be found in the layer of
ashes that had earlier covered the floor of the monastery. After the
building ceased to function as the local parish church in 1589, local
farmers utilized the stone in the ruined church's walls as a ready made
source of building materials.
The monastery was probably dedicated to St. Brettiva, a little known local
saint It has been suggested that the monastery was located at a place of
pilgrimage connected with this mysterious saint. However this theory has
been dismissed by historians.
The plan of the monastery-church at Munkby is almost identical with the
cistercian church at Lyse near Bergen, and indeed apart from its smaller
scale the ruins are in complete harmony with cistercian ideals.
Although there has been no systematic archaeological at the site, the ruins
have been the object of comprehensive cleaning and restoration during the
last 100 years. However traces of a number of earlier wooden buildings and a
well were recorded in 1815. From the same source there are to be found
descriptions of a stone built road along the river bank together with a
stone wall in the form of a half circle to the north of the ruins. |
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