St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal
Encyclopedia
Sankt Paul im Lavanttal
Sankt Paul im Lavanttal is a municipality of the Wolfsberg discrict, Carinthia, Austria.-External links:*http://www.sanktpaul.at...
in the 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...
n state of Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
.
History
The abbey was founded in 1091 by the Spanheim Dukes of Carinthia on the site of their ancestral castle.In 1787 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...
dissolved it, but in 1809, under the Prince-Abbot Dr. Berthold Rottler, monks from St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest
St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest
Sankt Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest was a Benedictine monastery in the village of St. Blasien in the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.- 9th–12th centuries :The early history of the abbey is obscure...
, which had also just been dissolved, moved into the premises. In 1940 the abbey was dissolved again by 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...
but the monks were able to return when it was reopened in 1947. Today it is the oldest operational monastery in Carinthia.
From 1641 the abbey was a member of the Salzburg Congregation, which in 1930 was merged into the present 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...
of 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:...
.
Abbey church
Within the abbey precinct there is a RomanesqueRomanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
dating from the end of the 12th century. After a fire in 1367 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....
vaulted ceiling was added, painted with 44 frescoes by the Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
ean masters Friedrich and Michael Pacher
Michael Pacher
Michael Pacher was an Austrian Tyrolean painter and sculptor active during the last quarter of the 15th century. His best-known work is the altarpiece at the church in the village of St. Wolfgang, Austria. This altarpiece contains scenes from the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary...
.
The interior decoration of the church by the Styrian artist Philipp Jakob Straub
Philipp Jakob Straub
Philipp Jakob Straub was an Austrian sculptor from a well-known family of German Baroque sculptors. His father Johann George Straub and his brothers Johann Baptist, Joseph, and Johann Georg Straub were also sculptors, as was his nephew Franz Xaver Messerschmidt...
dates from the 18th century. Beneath 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...
high altar is a crypt, in which are the coffins of 13 members of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
family.
See also
- St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal was recently selected as the main motif of a very high value collectors' coin: the Austrian St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal commemorative coin, minted on October 10, 2007. The obverse displays a view of the abbey buildings nestling on the wooded hill above the town while the reverse shows the South Portal of the church; built in 1618.
- The abbey possesses one of the largest collections of art in Europe, including graphics, coins, sacred art, and paintings by among others Rubens, Van DyckAnthony van DyckSir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
, DürerAlbrecht DürerAlbrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
, HolbeinHans Holbein the YoungerHans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
and Kremser Schmidt, as well as an extensive and important library of over 180,000 books and manuscripts from between the 5th and 18th centuries.
- The Benedictines of St. Paul also run a secondary school ("Gymnasium").
- In 2010 the Benedictines of St. Paul published a music-production: "The Voices of God - Die Klanggesänge der Benediktiner/Stift St. Paul im Lavanttal", traditional Gregorian Chants with new instruments and compositions.