The Monastery Before the Monastery

The Monastery Before the Monastery - lecture: Monday 16 November 2026, 19:00–21:00, Sorø Bykontor, Sorø. Tickets cost 100 kr.

Architectural historian and Ph.D. Thomas Bertelsen gives a lecture on the monastery that stood on the site before Sorø Monastery. He is head of building culture at Over byen Arkitekter, has researched Sorø Monastery's cultural history for more than 20 years, and participated in the restoration of Sorø Monastery Church from 2018 to 2023.

Absalon initiated Sorø Monastery in 1161, which received monks from the Cistercian order and became one of the richest in the Nordic region during the Middle Ages. But around 1150, Absalon's father and uncles had already founded a monastery with Benedictine monks on the same ground. Absalon transformed it and continued it as a Cistercian monastery.

The lecture focuses on the earlier Benedictine monastery. Sources are few and scattered, but written records and archaeological finds provide a rough picture of a monastery with great ambitions and a short life.

The lecture takes place in the Multisalen. It is arranged by Asser Rigs Hus and supported by Egholtfonden. On 5 April 2027, a lecture with a guided tour of Sorø Monastery Church will follow.