Antvorskov

[2] In 1165, the Danish king Valdemar the Great, who was himself an honorary Knight of St John, gave the Order land at Antvorskov.

Over time, however, especially after the collapse of Crusader kingdoms in Palestine, the Order focused more on helping local people, especially those suffering from leprosy, which was not uncommon in medieval Europe.

Many persons nearing death and seeking to withdraw from the world into a quasi-religious life donated some or all of their goods to the monastery.

Despite the vast landholdings attached to the monastery, the central government of the Order on Rhodes (and, later, on Malta) often scolded Antvorskov for failing to send the required excess to the mother house.

In time, Antvorskov came to own farms and land all over Denmark and as far south as Rügen, where a daughter abbey at Maschenholt was established in 1435.

Several of the fixtures from the monastery were transferred to nearby Saint Peter's Church, including an altar and a baptismal font.

[6] The remnants of the monastic complex crumbled, visited by Danes and others as a picturesque reminder of the distant past; in his autobiography, Hans Christian Andersen, for example, mentions excursions to the ruins of the monastery.