Gaming Charterhouse
Encyclopedia
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery in Gaming
Gaming, Austria
Gaming is a small village within the district of Scheibbs in Lower Austria. It is known primarily for an old Carthusian monestary existing within its borders...
near Scheibbs
Scheibbs
Scheibbs is a town in Austria. It is in the Scheibbs district of Lower Austria.Scheibbs is the birthplace of West Bromwich Albion football player Paul Scharner....
in the Mostviertel
Mostviertel
Mostviertel is the southwestern quarter of the four quarters of Lower Austria . It is bordered on the north by the Danube and to the south and west by the state borders of Styria and Upper Austria respectively...
of 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...
.
Albert II, Duke of Austria
Albert II of Austria , known as the Wise or the Lame, was Duke of Austria.-Life:Albert II was born at Habsburg, the son of Albert I of Germany, Rex Romanorum, and Elisabeth of Tirol...
, who intended it as a dynastic burial place. He himself was buried there after his death in 1358, as was his wife Johanna von Pfirt (d. 1351) and daughter-in-law Elisabeth of Bohemia (d. 1373). The first community, from Mauerbach Charterhouse in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, comprised a double complement, under a prior, of 24 monks rather than the usual 12, and the scale of the buildings from the beginning reflected the monastery's size.
Gaming Charterhouse received extremely generous endowments from its founder, including much surrounding land in the valley of the Erlauf
Erlauf
Erlauf is a town in the district of Melk in the Austrian state of Lower Austria....
, and the town and market of Scheibbs.
Josephinism
Josephinism is the term used to describe the domestic policies of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor . During the ten years in which Joseph was the sole ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy , he attempted to legislate a series of drastic reforms to remodel Austria in the form of the ideal Enlightened state...
of 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 1797 the bodies of the founder, his wife and daughter-in-law were removed to the parish church of Gaming, and in 1825 the monastery and estate, including large areas of forest, passed into private ownership. In 1915 it was bought by the abbot of Melk Abbey
Melk Abbey
Melk Abbey or Stift Melk is an Austrian Benedictine abbey, and one of the world's most famous monastic sites. It is located above the town of Melk on a rocky outcrop overlooking the river Danube in Lower Austria, adjoining the Wachau valley....
.
In 1983 the monastery premises, but not the remaining estates, were bought by an Austrian architect, Walter Hildebrand, who has since worked on the restoration. The renovated premises are partly occupied by a hotel and partly by Franciscan University of Steubenville
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Franciscan University of Steubenville is a Catholic institution located in Steubenville, Ohio, west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school was founded in 1946 by the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. In 1974, Fr...
(main campus in Ohio, USA). Since 2004 there has also been a museum, with displays of the history of Gaming Charterhouse and of the Carthusians in general. Recently a Greek Catholic (Byzantine) chapel has been set up here.
Sources and external links
- Kartause.at: Gaming Charterhouse church, with museum and universities
- Gaming Charterhouse Hotel website