You'll learn a lot about St. Birgitta (Bridget) of Sweden during a visit here, notably that she married at the age of 13 and gave birth to eight children, so she's hardly a nun. Inside you can see a red velvet box that holds her bones, and the abbey still has the coffin in which she was returned from Rome. We think the 15th-century statue of her, located near the altar, looks a lot like the Madonna (no, not that one).

Built between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries to specifications outlined by Bridget, this Gothic church is rich in medieval art. Parts of the abbey date from 1250. The abbey housed the nuns of St. Birgitta's order until their expulsion in 1595.

The New Monastery and Church, built in 1973, show the same traditional simplicity St. Birgitta prescribed for her order. The view to the huge windows is the only decoration in this otherwise stark church. The nuns, who returned to Sweden in 1963, will show the church and their guesthouse to interested visitors at times convenient to their own schedule. It's a 3-minute walk from Stora Torget.