Oliwa Abbey

The Oliwa Abbey was the Cistercian monastic community in Oliwa (now a district of Gdańsk), the oldest monastic establishment in Gdańsk Pomerania, which existed continuously from 1188 to 1831, now a Historic Monument of Poland. The monastery buildings were repeatedly destroyed by pagan Prussians, Brandenburgers, Teutonic Knights, Hussites, Swedes, Russians, and the people of Gdańsk itself. From 1466 to 1772 it consistently sided with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in its ongoing disputes with Gdańsk. In the twilight years of its existence, the abbey became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1772 following the First Partition of Poland. Due to Prussian dissolution policies, the Cistercian order was abolished in 1831.