Maribo Abbey

Maribo Abbey, established in 1416, was the first Bridgettine monastery in Denmark and became one of the most important Danish abbeys of the late Middle Ages. It was located in the present town of Maribo on the island of Lolland (Region Sjælland) in southern Denmark. The monastery is in ruins, but the abbey church still remains in use as Maribo Cathedral.

The first Bridgettine abbey in Denmark was established in 1416 in the town of Skimminge on a gift of land (Grimstrup) from Queen Margaret I and supplemented by her heir, Eric of Pomerania. Monks from the mother house of the Bridgettine Order, Vadstena Abbey in Sweden, were dispatched to set up a daughter house. At the same time the town, renamed "Marienbo" (later Maribo), received a city charter which gave it privileges from interference by local nobles. The new foundation received papal confirmation in 1418.

Construction had begun on the quire of Skimminge church some time before 1408. The existing work on the church was apparently incorporated into the new abbey church which was completed by 1470. It was built in Gothic style in red brick, the most common building material of the day in the region. It was rectangular with a nave and two side aisles the same height as the nave and choir.

Bridgettine abbeys were double monasteries, meaning that they contained both nuns and canons. The order stipulated that the complement of a house should be 60 nuns, 13 canons, four deacons and eight lay brothers. The conventual buildings consisted of two separate sections, with nuns on the north side and canons on the south. The abbess kept order among the nuns and had ultimate control of the abbey; the 13 canons were led by the general confessor.

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