Om Abbey Ruins

Om Abbey was founded in 1172 on the isthmus between two lakes in the Jutland lake district, and the Cistercians there dug canals, built mills and dams and reshaped the water system around them, some of which is still visible. The abbey was dissolved at the Reformation and its stone was taken for Skanderborg Castle, so it survives as foundations laid out in the grass. What makes the site more than a plan is the museum: excavation of the abbey cemetery produced a large number of skeletons showing surgical intervention, healed fractures and disease, and the collection covers medieval medicine, surgery and monastic healing directly from that evidence, alongside a reconstructed medieval herb garden of the plants the monks grew.

What you actually see

• Abbey foundations between two lakes - the plan laid out in grass.
• The medieval medicine museum - skeletons showing surgery and healed injury.
• A monastic herb garden - reconstructed medicinal planting.
• Canals and dams - the water system the monks engineered.

When to go

April to October; the museum closes for the winter. Two hours. It sits on the lake district cycle and boat routes, so it combines well with a day on the water.

Honest expectations

The abbey is at foundation level with nothing standing. The museum is small. Winter closure is long. Interpretation is largely in Danish. Parking is limited on summer weekends.

Nearby

Ry and the lake district are south; Himmelbjerget lies east.