Tønsberg

Title

Tønsberg

Also Known As

Oleuum, Olewin, Olewyn, Oltzbin, Tönsberg, Tonsberga, Tunsberga

Dates

Founded 1190s; dissolved 1530s

Dedication

Olav

Affiliation

Børglum

Medieval Diocese

Oslo

History

Tønsberg was founded ca. 1180 by Eskil, archbishop of Lund. The abbey church, unusual for its round shape, was completed by 1207. It was a wealthy house with large estates.

Tønsberg was suppressed during the Reformation in the 1530s. Some ruins are still extant and have been incorporated into Tønsberg's town library.

Heads of Community

Abbots

Orm?, fl. 1223
Arnstein, 1318-1322
Ogmund, fl. 1330
Benedictus, 1355-1359
Gunnar, fl. 1368
Olaf Salmundsson, 1403-1431
Nils I Helgesson, fl. 1436
Petrus, fl. ca. 1450
Nils II, 1513-1532

Status

Abbey

Bibliography

Bandlien, Bjørn. “Jerusalem in Viken. An Introduction.” In Jerusalem in Viken: Crusading Ideology, Church-Building and Monasticism in South-Eastern Norway in the Twelfth Century, edited by Bjørn Bandlien, 9–23. Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 2023. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.189.ch1.

———. “The Premonstratensians and Their Round Church in Tønsberg: Scandinavian Contexts and European Networks.” In Jerusalem in Viken: Crusading Ideology, Church-Building and Monasticism in South-Eastern Norway in the Twelfth Century, edited by Bjørn Bandlien, 111–60. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 2023.

Bugge, Anders. “Nordens største rundkirke: Olavsklostret i Tønsberg.” Foreningen til norske fortidsminnesmerkers bevaring: Årbok 1931, 1932.

Ekroll, Øystein. “The Round Church of Tønsberg and the Octagon of Nidaros.” In Jerusalem in Viken: Crusading Ideology, Church-Building and Monasticism in South-Eastern Norway in the Twelfth Century, edited by Bjørn Bandlien, 57–79. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 2023. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.189.ch3.

Eriksson, Jan E. G., and Kari Schei, eds. Seminaret “Kloster og by” 11.-13. november 1992: omkring Olavsklosteret, Premonstratenserordenen og klostervesenet i middelalderen. Rapport (Tverfaglige seminarer i Tønsberg). Tønsberg: Tønsberg Bibliotek og Riksantikvaren, Utgravningskontoret for Tønsberg, 1993.

Jahnssen, Lasse. “Olavsklosteret i Tønsberg: Nordens største rundsmie.” Vestfoldminne, 1992, 20–23.

Lunde, O. “Premonstratenserklosteret i Tønsberg St. Olavs kirke - Nordens største rundkirke.” Vestfoldminne, 1971, 68–85.

Lunde, Øivind. “St Olav’s Church in Tønsberg. The Excavation of 1969–70 in Retrospect.” In Jerusalem in Viken: Crusading Ideology, Church-Building and Monasticism in South-Eastern Norway in the Twelfth Century, edited by Bjørn Bandlien, 33–56. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademis, 2023.

Müller, Jens. Beskrivelse over den aeldste kiøbstaed i Norge, Tonsberg, baade som den har vaeret, og som den nu er : med et anhang om det kongelige salt- og tegl-verk ved Tonsberg. Børsum, 1750. https://books.google.com/books/about/Beskrivelse_over_den_aeldste_ki%C3%B8bstaed.html?id=aI46AQAAMAAJ.

Nyberg, Tore. “Børglum, Tønsberg, Dragsmark.” In Seminaret “Kloster og by” 11.-13. november 1992: omkring Olavsklosteret, Premonstratenserordenen og klostervesenet i middelalderen, edited by Jan E. G. Eriksson and Kari Schei, 67–77. Rapport (Tverfaglige seminarer i Tønsberg). Tønsberg: Tønsberg Bibliotek og Riksantikvaren, Utgravningskontoret for Tønsberg, 1993.

Petterson, Dan. “De arkeologiske undersøkelsene i Storgaten 16, Tønsberg 1991.” Arkeologiske rapporter fra Tønsberg. Oslo, 1991.

Wienberg, Jes. “Jerusalem in Tønsberg: Round Churches and Storytelling.” In Jerusalem in Medieval Scandinavia: Kings, Crusaders, and Monastic Orders, edited by Kristin A. Aavitsland and Bjørn Bandlien. Lund: Lund University, 2017. https://portal.research.lu.se/portal/en/publications/jerusalem-in-toensberg(ac85728f-eaad-46c2-8f6f-8358e72ad100).html.

———. “Jerusalem in Tønsberg. Round Churches and Storytelling.” In Jerusalem in Viken: Crusading Ideology, Church-Building and Monasticism in South-Eastern Norway in the Twelfth Century, edited by Bjørn Bandlien, 81–110. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 2023.

Image Credit

Ruins of the church, 2008. Wikimedia.

Files

Collection

Denmark and Norway

Citation

“Tønsberg,” A Premonstratensian Atlas, accessed October 16, 2026, https://yvonneseale.org/atlas/items/show/43.

Geolocation

Item Relations

This Item DependentOn Item: Børglum