WADSTENA.— Double monastery of St. Saviour in the ancient diocese of Linköping in Ostergötland, Sweden, founded in 1346 by St. Bridget (v.) during the reign of King Magnus Eriksson. It was the mother house of the Bridgettine nuns. 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 ornamentation, in accordance with the prescriptions of St. Bridget; 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 respective statue. Along the sides of the nave ran a corridor with iron grilles leading to the nuns’ choir; opposite was the brothers’ choir. On the high altar is preserved an anchor by Jan Borman of Brussels. In the church is a large carved crucifix from Lübeck, ca. 1440, a statue of the Madonna and Child, and one of St. Bridget executed by Hesse and Stenradt of Lübeck in 1459. Also displayed are some medieval textiles and a gilded silver reliquary containing the relics of the Saint. Around the church are preserved parts of the ancient abbey, altered after the Reformation which suppressed the cluster of dwellings that had grown up around it; not far away, Gustav Vasa had the sumptuous castle of W. built, whose interior was decorated at the beginning of the 17th century and has a monumental church. Since 1935, a part of the old monastery has been returned to the Bridgettine nuns (v. ORDINE DELLA SANTA CROCE. SALVATORE E DI S. BRIGIDA).