Birger Jarl & the royal graves

Birger Jarl (Birger Magnusson) was probably born in the 1210s or perhaps somewhat earlier. In the year 1237, he is mentioned for the first time. Many are surprised that Birger Jarl is buried in Varnhem Abbey Church and not in Stockholm, where there is a large grave monument. Birger Jarl was very important for the abbey in Varnhem and has his final resting place here.

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Birger Jarl

Birger Jarl (Birger Magnusson) was probably born in the 1210s or perhaps somewhat earlier. In the year 1237, he is mentioned for the first time. He becomes jarl in the year 1248, regent from 1250, and dies on 21 October 1266 at Jälbolung in Västergötland. He is buried in the then-Cistercian abbey in Varnhem. Birger Jarl was the son of Magnus Minnesköld of Bjälbo in his second marriage to Ingrid Ylva.

Birger Magnusson became the de facto ruler of Sweden from 1247-1248 after the overthrow of the jarl Ulf Fase until his death in 1266. According to the Chronicle of Duke Erik, Birger founded the city of Stockholm. Birger also laid the foundation for Tavastehus Castle in the year 1250.

Jarl Birger belonged to the House of Folkung, which is the established designation. The Folkung dynastic designation, however, is based on a historical misunderstanding, and a more appropriate name for the jarl's family would be the House of Bjällbo after its ancestral estate, or the House of Magnus Minnesköld's, after its progenitor. One should also remember that the families of that time did not call themselves anything at all, but the family names have been constructed afterwards by genealogists.

The different family members could have different surnames - one of Birger's relatives was called, for example. Birger Brosa, which means Birger "the smiling". Birger Magnusson himself was the last in Sweden to hold the title of jarl. He had no known surname. (Since jarl is a title and not a name, it is written with a lowercase initial in Swedish.)

Birger Magnusson married in 1235/1237, in any case before 1241, Princess Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden, who was the sister of King Eric the Lisp and Lame. They had several children, two of whom became kings: Valdemar Birgersson (for whom Birger Jarl became regent in 1250) and Magnus Ladulås, who took over after Birger's death in 1266.

After Ingeborg's death in 1254, Birger remarried in 1261 to the Danish King Abel's widow, Mechtild of Holstein.

Birger Jarl's ring

A ring made of silver-mixed gold was found in Birger Jarl's grave during an exhumation in 1920. Since the ring shows no signs of wear, it is likely that it was made for the funeral. The ring is displayed in a showcase in Varnhem Abbey Church.

Royal tombs

Varnhem Abbey Church is the final resting place for several Swedish kings.

The House of Erik

When the abbey church in Varnhem became the burial site for the royal House of Erik, the abbey was favoured with rich gifts in land and money as compensation for the distinguished burial sites.

Knut Eriksson +1196

Erik Knutsson +1216

Erik Eriksson "the Lisp and Lame" +1250

Stenkil dynasty

Here also rests:

Inge the Elder+ circa 1100

who belonged to the House of Stenkil, whose remains were moved to the abbey church.

The House of Bjälbo

In the second most prominent place in the abbey church, in front of the lay brothers' altar, "the Altar of the Holy Cross", the first two generations of the House of Bjälbo have their burial site.

Under a sculpted gravestone rests:

Birger Jarl +1266
Duke Erik (son) +1275
Queen Mechtild +1288

The grave of Birger and Mechtild was opened in May 2002. A DNA analysis of the remains has subsequently confirmed that the grave is indeed Birger Jarl's grave.

When Stockholm City Hall was built, it was intended that the remains of Birger Jarl would be moved to a sarcophagus at the foot of the tower, but the church council of Varnhem declined the request, and the grave in Stockholm remained empty.