Munkeliv monastery was situated at Nordnes, on the site today known as Klosteret (the monastery). It was a Benedictine monastery founded by king Øystein Magnusson (1103-23). In 1426 the monastery was taken over by the followers of the holy Birgitta of Sweden, the Birgittanians. In 1455 it was ravaged by the Germans, who set the church and the monastery alight as they killed Olav Nilsson, the Norwegian officer at Bergenhus who had fled into the church. The church was rebuilt and for a short time it served as the town’s cathedral, before the Franciscan church in Vågsbotn became the cathedral in 1536. The church was probably already started in the time of Øystein Magnusson (before 1123) and must have been one of the most magnificent church buildings in Bergen.
Jonsklosteret was situated vis-à-vis Strandgaten, in the area between Strandgaten and the place in front of Tinghuset. This was an Augustinian monastery, probably founded in the second half of the 1100s. There are no preserved remains of the monastery building.
