Black Friars' Monastery of Stockholm, Medieval monastery in Stadsholmen, Sweden
The Black Friars' Monastery is a medieval monastery on Stadsholmen, Stockholm's old town island, whose surviving remains are now part of the Museum of Medieval Stockholm. The basement level contains seven brick vaults that still reflect the original layout of the building.
King Magnus IV granted the land on Stadsholmen to the Dominican order in 1336, and the monks built their monastery there shortly after. The building was eventually abandoned after the Reformation, when the Dominicans were forced to leave Sweden.
The Dominican friars who lived here wore black robes, which gave them the nickname "Black Friars" and eventually gave the monastery its name. Visitors to the basement vaults today can see the brick construction that the friars commissioned in the 14th century.
The basement vaults are accessible through the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, which is open during regular museum hours. The site sits in the heart of Gamla Stan and is easy to reach on foot, so a visit pairs well with a walk through the old town.
The monastery was used as a prison for high-ranking captives, including Queen Christina of Saxony, who was held there after the Siege of Tre Kronor in 1502. This use as a place of detention for nobles shows how far the building was drawn into the power struggles of its time.
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