Esrum Abbey

Köpenhamn · Denmark · Monastery

The devil took service in the abbey kitchen as Brother Rus – he slew the cook and lured the monks to their ruin.

Esrum Abbey, founded in the 12th century, was one of the mightiest Cistercian monasteries in the North – and the setting of one of Denmark's most famous devil legends. According to the tale of Brother Rus, printed in Copenhagen as early as the 1550s, the devil himself took employment as a kitchen boy at the abbey. He did away with the cook, rose through the kitchen ranks, and step by step seduced the brothers into drunkenness and debauchery while monastic discipline fell to pieces. Only when a peasant happened to witness a nocturnal meeting between Rus and Lucifer himself and warned the abbot was the demon unmasked – and the abbot transformed him into a red horse. The abbey still shows Brother Rus's cellar, and the legend of the devil in a monk's cowl is told on atmospheric evening walks through the old vaults.

FAQ

Where is Esrum Abbey located?

Esrum Abbey is in Köpenhamn, Denmark.

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• Østre Fælled (Fælledparken) Köpenhamn · Execution site
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• The Consistory House, University of Copenhagen Köpenhamn · Historic building
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Image: Graphicos · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons