Øm Abbey was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1172 in the Diocese of Aarhus near the town of Rye, between the lakes of Mossø and Gudensø in central Jutland, Denmark. It is one of many former monasteries and abbeys in the region known as Søhøjlandet.HistoryAccording to the abbey chronicle, Øm Abbey was founded in 1172 by Cistercian monks from Vitskøl Abbey in northern Jutland. They wanted to found a daughter house in central Jutland. They attempted to establish such a house at Sabro near Aarhus but found the soil useless for farming. They moved to Sminge near Silkeborg and found the same poor soil conditions, and then in 1166 they settled a short time at abandoned Veng Abbey, outside Skanderborg. They left in 1167 because of unresolved land disputes with Lady Margrethe. They tried for four years to establish themselves at Kalvø in Lake Skanderborg, but the winters proved to be too harsh. The monks finally settled on a patch of land near the town of Rye between the lakes of Mossø and Gudensø (English: Lake Guden), surrounded by water and marshlands. The site was overgrown with brush and surrounded by forest.The abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was called 'Cara Insula' or the "dear Island".