Stift Klosterneuburg
Encyclopedia
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Augustinian Canons
Canons Regular
Canons Regular are members of certain bodies of Canons living in community under the Augustinian Rule , and sharing their property in common...
in the 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...
n town of Klosterneuburg
Klosterneuburg
Klosterneuburg is an attractive small town in Lower Austria, Austria with a population of 24,442.It is located on the Danube, immediately north of Vienna, from which it is separated by the Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg hills...
on 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....
river, just north of the 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...
city limits at the Leopoldsberg
Leopoldsberg
The Leopoldsberg is perhaps Vienna’s most famous overlook, towering over the Danube and the city. Leopoldberg’s most prominent landmark is the church which stands at the top, and which is clearly visible from Vienna below...
.
It was founded in 1114 by the Austrian
March of Austria
The March of Austria was created in 976 out of the territory that probably formed the earlier March of Pannonia. It is also called the Margraviate of Austria or the Bavarian Eastern March. In contemporary Latin, it was the marchia Austriae, Austrie marchionibus, or the marcha Orientalis...
margrave Saint Leopold III
Leopold III, Margrave of Austria
Saint Leopold III was the Margrave of Austria in 1073–1136. He is the patron saint of Austria, of the city of Vienna, of Lower Austria, and, jointly with Saint Florian, of Upper Austria. His feast day is November 15.-Biography:...
, a Babenberger and the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of 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...
, and his second wife Agnes
Agnes of Germany
Agnes of Germany was the daughter of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Bertha of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Otto, Count of Savoy, Aosta and Moriana and Adelaide, Marchioness of Turin and Susa....
, a daughter of the Imperial Salian dynasty
Salian dynasty
The Salian dynasty was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages of four German Kings , also known as the Frankish dynasty after the family's origin and role as dukes of Franconia...
. According to legend, a gust out of the clear sky carried away Agnes' veil; her husband retrieved it years later and decided to build the monastery at the location. In fact Margrave Leopold had taken his residence at Neuburg ("Newcastle") and aimed to establish a separate Austrian diocese here, which met with strong opposition by the Bishops of Passau. Nevertheless the foundation is one of the oldest and richest of its kind in Austria and owned much of the land of the nowadays north-western suburbs of Vienna. Leopold's younger son, the chronicler Otto of Freising
Otto of Freising
Otto von Freising was a German bishop and chronicler.-Life:He was the fifth son of Leopold III, margrave of Austria, by his wife Agnes, daughter of the emperor Henry IV...
prepared for his ecclesiastical career at Klosterneuburg and became provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
in 1126. The canons turned to the Augustinian rule
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
in 1133.
The impressive building complex, the greater part of which was constructed between 1730 and 1834, stands on a hill rising directly from the banks of the Danube. Its foundations, including a castle tower and a 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....
chapel date back to the 12th century. Other older buildings still extant within the complex include the chapel of 1318 with Saint Leopold's tomb. From 1634 on the Habsburg rulers had the facilities rebuilt in a 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, continued by the architects Jakob Prandtauer
Jakob Prandtauer
Jakob Prandtauer was an Austrian Baroque architect....
, Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach
Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach
Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, also Fischer von Erlach the younger was an Austrianarchitect of the baroque, Rococo and baroque classicism.-Life and career:...
and Donato Felice d'Allio
Donato Felice d'Allio
Donato Felice d'Allio was an Austrian architect of the Baroque....
. The plans to embellish the monastery on the scale of an Austrian Escorial
El Escorial
The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the capital, Madrid, in Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and...
were later resumed by the Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
architect Joseph Kornhäusel
Joseph Kornhäusel
Josef Georg Kornhäusel was an Austrian architect of the first half of the 19th century...
, though only small parts were actually carried out. From 1882 on the priory church was restored according to plans by Friedrich von Schmidt
Friedrich von Schmidt
Friedrich von Schmidt was an architect who worked in late 19th century Vienna....
, whereby the Neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
twin steeples were attached.
The monastery premises also include a treasury with the Austrian archducal hat
Archducal hat
The archducal hat is the insignia of the Archduchy of Austria. It is kept in Klosterneuburg Monastery in perpetuity.-History:The first archducal coronet was shown on a portrait of Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, though this coronet probably never existed...
made on the behest of Archduke Maximilian III of Habsburg, a relic-chamber, and a library with 30,000 volumes and many manuscripts. It has also a centuries-long viticultural
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
tradition and owns one of the largest wineries in Austria. The wine cellar contains an immense tunnel similar to the one at Heidelberg Castle
Heidelberg Castle
The Heidelberg Castle is a famous ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps....
.
Verdun Altar
Nicholas of Verdun
Nicholas of Verdun was a French artist, one of the most famous goldsmiths and enamellists of the Middle Ages, a major figure in Romanesque art, and the leading figure of Mosan art in his day...
. Its three parts comprise 45 gilded copper plates modeled on Byzantine
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
paragon
Paragon
A paragon is a large, flawless diamond. The title is now used figuratively to denote a model of excellence or perfection of any kind; one having no equal; a perfect embodiment of a concept.Paragon may also refer to:-Places:...
s, similar to the Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site...
. Originally manufactured as panels, they were assembled as an altar in secondary utilization circa 1330.
The tripartite
Tripartite (theology)
In Christian theology, the tripartite viewpoint holds that man is a composite of three distinct components: body, soul and spirit. It is less popular than the bipartite view, where "soul" and "spirit" are taken as different terms for the same entity....
concept is reflected in the arrangement of the plates. According to the biblical exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
, the depictions are split into three rows of the eras of Adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
and Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
, of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
, David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
and the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
and finally of Jesus' life
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, placed in the central part. The columns of adjacent plates of different ages symbolise their connection according to the ideas of the typology
Typology (theology)
Typology in Christian theology and Biblical exegesis is a doctrine or theory concerning the relationship between the Old and New Testaments...
theory. The arrangement may refer to the mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
doctrines of the medieval theologian Hugh of Saint Victor.