Nydala Abbey

Nydala Abbey (Swedish: Nydala kloster) was a Cistercian monastery in the province of Småland, Sweden, near the lake Rusken. Although the abbey ceased to operate in the 16th century, its church was renovated and converted into a Protestant church during the 17th century and is still in use. The church belongs to the Church of Sweden and is part of the Diocese of Växjö.

Nydala (from Swedish ny, meaning new, and dal, meaning valley) was called Sancta Maria de Nova Valle or just Nova Vallis in Latin. It was founded in 1143 by Cistercian monks sent out from Clairvaux Abbey in France. Together with Alvastra and Roma Abbey, it is one of the oldest Cistercian abbeys in Sweden. It is furthermore unique in Sweden in that the Cistercian ideal of almost complete isolation was respected: the abbey was built in an area away from any settlement. The abbey took slightly over a hundred years to complete, and the church was not inaugurated until 1266. Rather little is known about the abbey's active period during the Middle Ages. It has been described as "once rich and powerful". As late as 1503, a letter of protection for the abbey was issued by the Pope Julius II.

In 1521, the King Christian II lodged in the abbey during his return journey from Stockholm and the . Although treated well by the monks, on leaving the abbey he had the abbot and five of the monks drowned in the Nydala Abbey Bloodbath, and plundered the church. The event could possibly be explained by the fact that the abbey may have been run and populated by members of the Swedish nobility that formed part of the resistance against Danish rule. Soon after, in 1527 during the Swedish Reformation, King Gustavus Vasa appropriated the abbey and confiscated its remaining valuables. The Swedish Crown confiscated its lands, and from some of these were formed a Crown Estate manor which would later become Nydala Manor, located nearby. The local peasants resisted these changes and murdered the first administrator that the Crown sent to take over the abbey. The abbey suffered again during the Northern Seven Years' War, when it was burnt and pillaged by Danish troops in 1568.

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