Skanör and Ystad - Part 3 - Ystad - Feb 13th

After Skanör, we decided to head across to Ystad.  We had been there before to see Ales Stenar, back in November (How we nearly angered the Viking Gods - Ystad and Ales Stenar), but we were still very new Sweden and it was our first road trip so we didn't see much of the city.

This time we decided to have a good look around.






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History (skip to the next row of equal signs to just read about our trip):
 
Ystad was founded in the 11th century.  It was written as Ystath in 1285 and was Danish (Danish name Ysted) until the Roskilde Treaty of 1658 when it was yielded to Sweden.  It is believed that the Y in the name may be derived from Yew Tree, with 'Stad' meaning town.

It is famous for the Greyfriar's abbey, the Mariakyrkan (Church of the Virgin Mary) and more recently for being the location of the Kurt Wallander detective stories.
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Walking into Ystad

I took this next photo as I wanted to work out what the sign meant (Essentially Road Closed - not applying to cyclists and visitors to buildings. - In Australia this would be local traffic only) but I had to post it due to Alana's face showing how she truly felt about all the walking...

Ignore the sign, check out Alana's Facials - I think she looks like Dobby from Harry Potter

Ystad has many old style buildings and tight streets it was quite an interesting walk.  Here's a few of the streets:

A street in Ystad

Another street

The main market street

I'm not sure why, but the name of the restaurant on the hanging sign gave me a good chuckle..

One of the town squares

Another older building - now a bookshop

Another Street

Another One

Next we came across S:t Maria Kyrka (St Mary's Church).  It is a Lutheran Church and visible from most of the city.

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History (skip to the next row of equal signs to just read about our trip):

The first church here was built here in the 13th century.  Some of this church still remains (the vault).  The church was rebuilt multiple times in the 14th and 15 century.  It was damaged in a storm in 1648 and was repaired and a new tower was erected.  It was altered in the 18th century and a historically accurate restoration was undertaken in the 1920s.

The church holds a 15th century altar,  two medieval wooden sculptures (Mary and St John) as well as fragments of frescos and an iron chandelier from the 14th century.

St Mary's Church

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Our first view of the church

Side wall and top of the tower

Looking up at the main entrance (slight warping due to the panoramic shot)

The Windows

The main door

We didn't get inside as there was a service on, but this picture from Wikipedia (Foto: Jonn Leffmann) shows the inside:

Inside the church

After the church we walked to the Greyfriars Abbey:


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History (skip to the next row of equal signs to just read about our trip):

The Greyfriars Abbey was funded by a donation from a knight in 1267 and abandoned in 1532 during the reformation in Denmark (the monks were forcibly evicted by the citizens and the building became an charitable house for the elderly or homeless).  Several wings of the building were pulled down and sold as building material.  After the treaty of Roskilde (1658) it was handed to Sweden and run as a distillery, then a granary.  In 1877 it was purchased by the government with plans to pull it down, but in 1909 restoration work began.  A rose garden was added in 2002 and the herb garden in 1998.

Details of the Abbey (in Swedish)

Translation:
Monastery in Ystad
In 1267 the Franciscan Monastery in Ystad was founded by a knight, Holmger, and his wife, Katarina.  This is shown on a wooden panel in the monastery church. At the time it was built, the church was consecrated to St Peter.  The Gråbröderna (Grey Brothers) as the Franciscans were called, probably lived in simple dwellings.

From the beginning the church consisted of the main nave.  During the 1300s they added a choir and south chapel. Around the 1430s the South Side Aisle was erected and the Chapel was installed. In the late 1400s the clock tower was built.  Three monastery longhouses were erected in the late 1300s.  The west was unlikely to have been wider than the cloister.  The upper floor may have houses a sleeping cabin for occasional visitors.  A gatehouse was added in the southwest corner.  On the north wing was a basement that was probably the kitchen and storage areas. Upstairs may have been a guest chamber for royalty.  The brothers worked in the east, now preserved, shelter. On the ground floor there were, among others, a dining room, cloister and the chapter house. The Brothers' dormitory was located upstairs.  The hall was probably divided into cells.  Around the 1500s, this was supplemented with a wing to the east. When complete, there was a four winged monastery with courtyard and an arched cloister around the courtyard grounds.

Francis and the Franciscans
Rich man's son, Francis, was born in 1182 in Assisi as Giovanni Francesco Bernardorne. He wanted to be a knight, but got a calling to save the Church of God. Francis restored several churches. A few years later he understood what God really wanted of his life: To follow Christ in poverty, humility, the love of God, human beings and all creation.  Francis was soon joined by other men who sharied his faith.  These men called themselves brothers. Francis' order was ratified by Papal Order in 1223. The brotherhood had definite rules and organization. Their attire was simple and gray.  The men came to be called Grey Brothers/Grey Friars.  In 1228, two years after his death, Francis was canonized.  Then his word spread across Europe. In 1232 the first monastery was founded in Denmark. Before the end of the 1200 century there were no less than 20 Franciscan Monasteries in the Kingdom. In Scania, convents were founded in Lund, Ystad, Trelleborg and Malmo.
Activity in Ystad
There were probably about 15-25 brothers in the monastery.  They had permission to preach in the city.  The public was also able to attend the brothers' services.  Nobel families in Ystad donated money and good to the monastery for for prayers for themselves and their families.  Because the brothers did not own any real estate or property, the money was used for building the monastery as well as the income from the herring trade the brothers ran. Around the year 1400, when the monastery was largely developed, meetings were held for the province of Dacia (North) there.

Reformation
In 1532 King Frederik of Denmark issued a letter to the mayor and council of Ystad that the state should take over the monastery.  The reformation was carried out and the brothers were driven out by force.  The building was then transferred back to the city.The church became a parish church and barracks hospital.  The gatehouse was allocated to city.  The west and north wings were demolished, probably in the 1600s.  The east wing served as a hospital until 1777.  A distillery was established and the inner walls were torn down. In 1791 the wing was made into a granary.  In 1876 the city bought the property and decided to demolish the dilapidated building.   Rector LM Neuman managed to have that decision annulled. In 1909 the monastery wing was restored.  In 1912 the wing was inaugurated as a museum and library.  Even the gatehouse was restored at this time.  The church belonged to St Peter's Parish until 1994 when the town of Ystad Congregation was formed.  In the 1960s the church was renovated the and monastery excavated. Then the foundation walls were excavated from the destroyed barracks.  In 1962 the church was left to the town.  In 1967 the abbey church was reopened, 700 years after its founding.

Map of the Monastery

 
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Our first view of the Abbey

Cameron's impression of the Monk Statue (that he was convinced was a Buddha)

The front of the Abbey

Side wall and rose garden

Rosengarden sign

The Apelgarden looking a bit sparse for winter

Apelgarden sign

The (Ortagarden) Herb Garden - or as the kids said, the worlds easiest hedge maze...

Ortagarden Sign

Kalgarden (Cabbage Garden)

Kalgarden Sign

The excavated foundation for the demolished barracks wing

The rear of the Abbey housed a pond filled with ducks:

Rear of the Abbey

Even the ducks had houses...

The rear of the Abbey

The Pond/Dam (Panoramic shot)

Sign for the Dam

After finishing up at monastery we headed to a famous bakery in Ystad, the Söderberg & Sara Bageri.  The kids and I had a hot chocolate (they did soy ones for the boys) and Kris had a cappuccino.  Kris and I also tried a traditional Swedish Semla Bun (seen on the table)

Söderberg & Sara Bageri

The Semla Bun (without the top)

After finishing up we headed back home to rest for a bit before heading out to visit one of the other expat families for a pizza dinner.