SE-73396 Sala (Västmanlands län)

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Kontakt / Contact:

Fax.: +(46)-0224251 88

Info: +(46) 022425188
Johannes.Lindell@kiruna.se
http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/kl...
 
Allgemeine Informationen/General information
Östanbäck Monastry is the oldest community for men in the Church of Sweden. Benedictine, it was founded in the 1960s.

"The background of the monastery lies in the Lutheran High Church Movement. On 14 February 1960, four theological students, from both the University of Lund and the University of Uppsala, took their vows, forming the Holy Cross Fraternity under the spiritual guidance of an Anglican Franciscan priest in preparation for the establishment of a religious order. The period of studying and preparation later led them towards the Benedictine renewal in the Roman Catholic Church of the Second Vatican Council.

Finally the first brethren moved to Östanbäck in November 1970. The chapel and monastery were consecrated on 20 July 1975 by Bishop Bengt Sundkler." (Wikipedia)


As you turn into the open yard of the monastery, the driveway divides. Here at the notice board the oldest house is close by to the right. It was erected in 1876 as a school, and was in use for fifty years. Then a new larger house was built higher up the slope. At that time, in 1926, the old school was turned into a residential house for teachers and other personnel. Forty years later, in 1967, there were not many school-children left in the area, and those who remained were given transport to another school. The school building was then turned into a mattress factory, with the owner living in what had been the teacher's house. The factory stayed on until 1970, when the FOUNDATION OF THE HOLY CROSS FRATERNITY bought the buildings, in order to here establish a monastery with inspiration from the RULE OF SAINT BENEDICT, the great western monastic rule from the 6th century—the rule that Ansgar, Sigfrid, David, Eskil and other early missionaries in Sweden adhered to.

The first brethren moved into the teacher's house in November 1970. In 1972 they could move to the larger building, where the chapel and the monks' cells had been provisionally furnished. Office-room and kitchen are now under the same roof, where the chapel naturally is the central point. The lower floor is accessible to visitors. The older house became a guesthouse. The monastery receives guests who for various reasons need peace and quiet, or perhaps a refuge for thought. They stay and eat at a self-cost price.

Further down the drive leading straight through toward the edge of the forest, on the right side there is a candle manufactory and shop. When the brethren found that they could not comply with the larger orders for candles, the WMP company in Sala took over these—with the advice and the dipping machine of the monastery. The candles are available in most arts and crafts shops in the surrounding area.

On the westward slope are stone-walled terraces with vegetable plots and a greenhouse. Tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumbers, beans and berries of various kinds thrive. These "treasures of the earth" may last far into the autumn.