History
The first Franciscan establishment in Svendborg was the chapel built in 1236. This building was destroyed when the town of Svendborg was burned to the ground by King Abel of Denmark in 1247 after a short siege. Another friary was built in about 1288 as the result of a gift of land for a chapel for the Franciscans from Herr Astrad Frakke, Herr Niels Bille (the brother of Bishop Johannes Bille), Herr Niels Beger and several other local nobles. Count Gert of Holstein and his son also made gifts of properties to support the Franciscan friars in Svendborg. In 1268 Lady Gro Gunnarsdatter Vint, the extremely wealthy widow of Esbjørn Vognsen, gave away her considerable fortune to abbeys, priories and friaries throughout Denmark when she joined the Poor Clares in Roskilde. The "brothers' chapel at Svendborg" is specifically mentioned in the list of her beneficiaries.
The Gothic church was completed in 1361 and was dedicated to Saint Catherine. Svendborg was burned by the Hanseatic Fleet in 1389, after which the friary was rebuilt yet again. During the 15th century it expanded considerably, and the buildings were extended several times.
The main friary precinct of this period consisted of a rectangular enclosure containing a church, dormitory, refectory, and servants' quarters, as well as a cloister surrounding a central garden. The buildings were constructed from red brick, the most common building material at the time.
The friary had a close connection with St. George's Chapel and Hospital just outside Svendborg, the last remaining medieval leper hospital in Denmark.
One of the most controversial times for the friary was in 1500 when Queen Christina, who was at that point in direct control of Svendborg, gave the whole of Bysen Street (Bysenstræde) to the Franciscans to use as accommodation for the town's poor and sick in their care. The mayor and the town council strongly disapproved of this action, which caused a severe rift between the town and the friary.
Read more about this topic: Svendborg Friary
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