WADSTENA. – Double monastery of S. Salvatore in the ancient diocese of Linköping, in Östergötland, Sweden, founded in 1346 by S. Brigida (v.) during the reign of King Magno Eriksson. It was the mother house of the sisters of S. Brigida. It was richly endowed by Popes Gregory XI (1370–71), Urban VI (1378–89), and Boniface IX (1389–1404).
The abbey church is of very simple architecture, devoid of decoration, in accordance with the prescriptions of S. Brigida; it is divided into three naves by octagonal stone pillars. The presbytery is raised and is reached by six steps; on either side of each step stands an altar dedicated to an apostle, with its corresponding statue. Along the sides of the nave ran a passageway with iron gates, leading to the choir of the nuns; opposite it was the choir of the brothers. On the high altar there is an altarpiece by Jan Borman of Brussels. The church contains a large crucifix carved in Lübeck around 1440, a statue of the Madonna and Child, and one of S. Brigida, executed by Hesse and Stenradt of Lübeck in 1459. Several medieval fabrics are also displayed, as well as a gilded silver reliquary containing the relics of the Saint. Around the church, some parts of the ancient abbey still survive, having been transformed after the Reformation, which suppressed the group of dwellings that had gradually formed around II. Not far away, Gustavo Vasa had the sumptuous castle of W. built; its interior was decorated at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and it has a monumental church. Since 1935, the sisters of S. Brigida have returned to part of the ancient monastery (v. ORDINE DELLA SANTA CROCE. SALVATORE E DI S. BRIGIDA).