ALVASTRA (ALWASTRA, ALVASTRUM, ALVASTER[N]). — An ancient Cistercian abbey in Sweden, on the eastern shore of Lake Vättern, south of Vadstena, in the diocese of Linköping, in the province of Östergötland. The fortieth foundation of Clairvaux, the first Cistercian house in the Scandinavian countries, it was established, during the lifetime of St. Bernard, in 1143 with the support of King Sverker and his wife Ulvilde (Alfthild, Alvida), patrons of monastic life in the nation. In memory of the queen, it was named Alfhildrum (Alvilstad), whence later came Alvastrum. It soon grew in splendor and renown. Its first abbot was not Robert; rather, the learned monk Stephen, revered in the Order as a blessed figure, was elected in 1164 as the first Archbishop of Uppsala and Primate of Sweden. With the same founder-king, the series of royal burials in A. began. Gustav Vasa (1523–60) suppressed the famous community and confiscated its goods; the last abbot, Torkil, imposed by the government as a royal administrator, resigned in 1529. The important library was dispersed. Today only imposing ruins remain, especially of the church, testifying to its former grandeur.
A. is particularly associated with the memory of St. Bridget, whose son Benedict died there as a young student, while the saint’s husband, Prince Ulf, with her consent, was received there until his death and numbered among the *familiares* or “confratres” of the monastery (cf. *Menologium Cisterciense*, March 21 and July 26). Bridget herself, after her husband’s death (February 12, 1344), wished to live there in solitude (1344–1346), until her departure for Rome, where she was followed by the prior of the monastery, Peter Olofsson.
From A. originated (as *filiae*) the abbeys of Varnhem, Saba (Julita or Juleta), and Gudsberga (Mons Domini; Husaby).