Herzogenburg Priory
Encyclopedia
Herzogenburg
Herzogenburg is a town in the district of Sankt Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria.Herzogenburg is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, located between St. Pölten and Krems in the Lower Traisental. Herzogenburg has a population of 7.700 and is located 226 meters...
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...
.
History
The monastery was founded in 1112 by Ulrich I, Bishop of PassauBishop of Passau
The Diocese of Passau is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Germany. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of München und Freising. The diocese covers an area of 5,442 km². The current bishop is Wilhelm Schraml.-History:...
, at St. Georgen an der Traisen, now in Traismauer
Traismauer
Traismauer is a municipality in the district of Sankt Pölten-Land in Lower Austria, Austria.It was established by the Romans, probably on a location of prior settlements. Some Roman buildings survive to this day....
, at the confluence of the Traisen
Traisen
Traisen can refer to:Germany:* Traisen, Germany , in Rhineland-Palatinate, GermanyAustria:* Traisen , a river in Lower Austria, Austria** Inzersdorf ob der Traisen, Inzersdorf...
with the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. In 1244 because of frequent flooding it was moved up-river towards Herzogenburg. From 1714 the buildings were refurbished in the Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
style by Jakob Prandtauer
Jakob Prandtauer
Jakob Prandtauer was an Austrian Baroque architect....
, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
----Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, born Johann Bernhard Fischer was probably the most influential Austrian architect of the Baroque period....
and 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...
. The monastery was able to survive the dissolutions enforced by 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 the late 18th century. Until 1783 the monastery was in the Diocese of Passau, afterwards in the Diocese of St. Pölten.
Priory church
The priory church was established in about 1014 by Emperor Henry IIHenry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
and is dedicated to Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
the Protomartyr (after the patron of Passau Cathedral). In 1112 bishop Ulrich I gave the benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
of Herzogenburg to his newly-founded monastery at St. Georgen, which moved to Herzogenburg in 1244.
There are few remains of the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church (the portal and the second storey of the tower). The architect of the present church building was Franz Munggenast (son of Josef Munggenast). The rebuilt church was dedicated on 2 October 1785 and was the last significant Baroque church built in Austria.
Art collection
The emphasis of the collection is on late GothicGothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
works such as panel painting
Panel painting
A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel made of wood, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for...
s, sculptures and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows. The great banqueting hall, the treasury and the monastic library, as well as the coin cabinet, underline the art-historical importance of the priory in Lower Austria. The Baroque picture gallery is also notable, and does not only contain religious works. A particular curiosity is a well-preserved Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
helmet, dating from about 150 A.D., which was found in a gravel pit in the vicinity.