Altenburg Abbey
Encyclopedia
Altenburg, Lower Austria
Altenburg is a municipality in the district of Horn in Lower Austria, Austria....
in Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
.
It was founded in 1144 by Countess Hildeburg of Boigen-Rebgau. Under the abbots Maurus Boxler and Placidus Much the abbey took on its present Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
form. Under the supervision of the architect Josef Munggenast
Josef Munggenast
Josef Munggenast was an Austrian architect and masterbuilder of the Baroque period.Munggenast was born in Schnann in Tyrol, the nephew of Jakob Prandtauer, who advanced his career and whose influence marked his style for the whole of his life.From 1717 Munggenast was master mason in Sankt Pölten...
some of the most distinguished artists and craftsmen of Austria worked on this project: Paul Troger
Paul Troger
Paul Troger was an Austrian painter, draughtsman and printmaker of the late Baroque period. Troger's illusionistic ceiling paintings in fresco are notable for their dramatic vitality of movement and their palette of light colors.Paul Troger’s style, particularly in his frescoes, dominated Austrian...
on the frescoes, Franz Josef Holzinger on the stucco work, and Johann Georg Hoppl on the marbling.
Under the Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
in 1793 the abbey was forbidden to accept new novices, but unlike many others in Austria it succeeded in remaining in operation.
In 1940 under the National Socialists
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
the abbey was suspended, and in 1941 dissolved: the abbot was placed under arrest and the community dispossessed. From 1945 the premises were used as accommodation by Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
occupying troops. Under Abbot Maurus Knappek (1947–1968) the buildings were restored and the community renewed.
Since 1625 it has been a member of the Austrian Congregation
Austrian Congregation
The Austrian Congregation is a congregation of Benedictine monasteries situated in Austria, within the Benedictine Confederation.-History:The Congregation was founded on 3 August 1625 by Pope Urban VIII, and consisted of eleven Benedictine monasteries in Austria:*Altenburg Abbey*Garsten...
now within the Benedictine Confederation
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...
.