Mauer bei Melk
Encyclopedia
Mauer is a village in the municipality of Dunkelsteinerwald
, in the Mostviertel
in Lower Austria
, Austria
.
times. The parish church of Mauer goes back into the earliest days of the settled history of the Dunkelsteinerwald
. The powerful Counts of Formbach created it 1096. Around 1110, ownership was transferred to Göttweig Abbey
.
The place is a part of the market municipality Dunkelsteinerwald, which maintains a local building with a fire department, a municipal office and a registry office in the center. Some farms characterize the place. Since there are only one baker's shop and a few small individual enterprises, the lack of local infrastructure induces the municipality to orient itself strongly towards the neighbouring municipality of Loosdorf
. The local centre was extended substantially only during the last few decades, with a core settlement of a single family house forming its centerpiece. The significance of the village is strongly connected substantially to the importance of a carved altar, which is why the local church is particularly worth mentioning.
The pilgrimage church at Mauer bei Melk, which belongs to the Benedictine abbey
of Göttweig
was one of the oldest buildings of the area, but none of it has been preserved to this day. Possibly, the original church was a timber construction, as is reported in the Vita Altmanni. The possessions of Mauer parish, increased considerably in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The oldest part of the parish church probably dates back to this time. The two side ships were built in that time, while the high choir was built around 1300. The church was to be expanded during the 15th century, but the Reformation
halted further building activity, because the Mr. von Albrechtsberg, who belonged to the promoters, had converted to the new doctrine. The gothic tower was built in the last phase. The old vestry was built at the same time as the choir, in extension of the northern side ship. In the baroque
period, the equipment of the church was renewed.
Geographic coordinates: 48°13′47"N 15°25′21"E
Geographic coordinates: 48°14′06"N 15°26′29"E
Dunkelsteinerwald (municipality)
Dunkelsteinerwald is a market municipality with 2,289 inhabitants in the district Melk in Lower Austria, Austria.- Geography :Dunkelsteinerwald lies in the Mostviertel in Lower Austria. The surface of the market municipality covers 54.19 square kilometers...
, 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...
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...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
History
The designations muri, ad mura, apud mura or the German designations Mour or Mower were mentioned as early as in the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1083, the village was mentioned, the church in 1096 for the first time in recorded history. The name indicates that medieval settlers encountered remnants of walls, probably from RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times. The parish church of Mauer goes back into the earliest days of the settled history of the Dunkelsteinerwald
Dunkelsteinerwald
----The Dunkelsteinerwald is a hill country south of the Danube in the Mostviertel region of Lower Austria. It is located at the shore of the Danube between Melk and Mautern, south of Krems....
. The powerful Counts of Formbach created it 1096. Around 1110, ownership was transferred to Göttweig Abbey
Göttweig Abbey
Göttweig Abbey is a Benedictine monastery near Krems in Lower Austria.-History:Göttweig Abbey was founded as a monastery of canons regular by Blessed Altmann, Bishop of Passau...
.
Economy and infrastructure
Loosdorf
Loosdorf is a little town in the district of Melk in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. One of its historical buildings is the Hohe Schule , the first school in Central Europe with a written curriculum, founded in 1574 by the Austrian nobleman Hans Wilhelm von Losenstein , the lord of the nearby...
. The local centre was extended substantially only during the last few decades, with a core settlement of a single family house forming its centerpiece. The significance of the village is strongly connected substantially to the importance of a carved altar, which is why the local church is particularly worth mentioning.
Buildings
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
of Göttweig
Göttweig Abbey
Göttweig Abbey is a Benedictine monastery near Krems in Lower Austria.-History:Göttweig Abbey was founded as a monastery of canons regular by Blessed Altmann, Bishop of Passau...
was one of the oldest buildings of the area, but none of it has been preserved to this day. Possibly, the original church was a timber construction, as is reported in the Vita Altmanni. The possessions of Mauer parish, increased considerably in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The oldest part of the parish church probably dates back to this time. The two side ships were built in that time, while the high choir was built around 1300. The church was to be expanded during the 15th century, but the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
halted further building activity, because the Mr. von Albrechtsberg, who belonged to the promoters, had converted to the new doctrine. The gothic tower was built in the last phase. The old vestry was built at the same time as the choir, in extension of the northern side ship. In the 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...
period, the equipment of the church was renewed.
Geographic coordinates: 48°13′47"N 15°25′21"E
Roman bridge near Mauer
The Bridge dates back to the 3rd or 4th century.Geographic coordinates: 48°14′06"N 15°26′29"E
German Literatur
- Floßmann, Gerhard; Kirchenführer Wallfahrtskirche Mauer bei Melk, 1998
- Wirth, Theobald; Der Schnitzaltar von Mauer bei Melk, in: das münster. Heft 2, 152 - 157, 1997
- Der Schnitzaltar von Mauer bei Melk, 206. Sonderausstellung der österreichischen Galerie Belvedere in Wien, Wien 1997
- Michaela Maria Schuller, Der Altar von Mauer bei Melk - ursprüngliches Aussehen und ursprüngliche Ikonographie, Diplom-Arbeit, Universität Wien, 2003
- Feuchtmüller, Rupert: Der Schnitzaltar in Mauer bei Melk. Ein Wunder der Gotischen Schnitzkunst, Verlag Niederösterreich, Pressehaus, 1955
- Feuchtmüller, Rupert; Santol, Eugen: Der Schnitzaltar in Mauer bei Melk, St. Pölten, Wien, Niederösterreichisches Pressehaus, 1975