Vadstena - Blue Church

(Local Name: Blåkyrkan) North of Vadstena Castle is the Blue Church (Blåkyrkan), so called from the color of the limestone of which it is built (restored 1898). The most notable feature of the interior is the 15th century St Birgitta's Altar, by a Lübeck master. To the left of the altar is the reliquary of St Birgitta, with the figure of the saint in the central part. On a pillar in the nave is a sculpture of St Birgitta in ecstasy which was much venerated in the Middle Ages. The nuns' quarters are still largely preserved, as are the more modest buildings to the south which were built for the monks in the 18th century. Gustavus Adolphus converted the abbey into a home for old soldiers.