S:t Karins Kapell och Stekaren

**St. Karin's Chapel and Stekaren

The history of St. Karin's Chapel has long been completely or partially unknown, but in recent years knowledge of its history has become clearer. One can read in the Arboga council minutes from July 17, 1514 that a farm in the city was purchased for St. Antoni monastery. When the Antonites wanted to get a foothold in Arboga, they bought a farm south of the river on today's Kapellgatan, and on the same day they were given two plots on the north side of the river, today's Ahllöfsparken, which you see from the chapel. One plot was given to them by Jöns Dean, and the other by the farmhand Nils' grandmother with the proviso that the brothers would feed her until the day she died. They build up a monastery that is focused on shelter in two stone houses. They came to be called St. Antoni and Tywiss monastery, now St. Karin's chapel and Stekaren. 1519 the farm on Kapellgatan is sold. Due to the Reformation and the reduction of the church, the activities ceased in 1529. In 1530, the bailiff sold one of the plots, and the farmhand Nils wanted the plot donated by his grandmother back, as the brothers had not fulfilled their promise to feed her until the day of her death. The deeds of the Antonites in the city were soon forgotten, but despite this, the two stone houses in Ahllöfsparken have survived and have puzzled historians throughout the years. Stekaren and St. Karin's Chapel are still in use, including during Medieval Days when medieval food and drink are served in Stekaren. St. Karin's Chapel is quieter and welcomes visitors for a moment of peace and quiet.