The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt (german: Diözese Gurk-Klagenfurt, sl, Krška škofija) is a
Catholic diocese covering the
Austrian state of
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
. It is part of the
ecclesiastical province of
Salzburg. Though named after
Gurk Cathedral, the bishop's see since 1787 is in
Klagenfurt.
Due to the presence of
Carinthian Slovenes, the organizational structures of the diocese are bilingual. The Slovene language is, together with German, the language of church services in 69 southern parishes of the diocese.
History
Middle Ages
In 1072 a
suffragan bishopric in the
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial Sta ...
, subordinate to the Archdiocese of Salzburg, was erected by Archbishop
Gebhard of Salzburg, with the authorization of
Pope Alexander II
Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria refor ...
(21 March 1070) and
Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son ...
(4 February 1072). It could rely on the properties of a former nunnery in
Gurk founded by Countess
Hemma in 1043. The first bishop installed was the local noble Günther von Krapffeld (1072–1090). The episcopal residence was not in Gurk, but at nearby
Strassburg Castle.
Initially the Gurk bishops only held the rights of
vicars, while the right of appointment, consecration, and
investiture was reserved to the Salzburg archbishop. The diocese served as a model for later Salzburg establishments like the
Bishopric of Chiemsee (1216), the
Diocese of Seckau (1218), and the
Diocese of Lavant
The Diocese of Lavant(tal) ( la, Lavantina) was a suffragan bishopric of the Archdiocese of Salzburg, established 1228 in the Lavant Valley of Carinthia.
In 1859 the episcopal see was re-assigned to Maribor (''Marburg an der Drau'') in present-da ...
(1228). Not until 1123 Archbishop
Conrad I of Salzburg founded a
cathedral chapter
According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
at Gurk, which under Bishop Roman I (1132–1167) obtained the right to elect the bishop. The boundaries of the diocese were only defined in 1131. Originally the territory embraced was small, but the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Gurk extended beyond the limits of his diocese, inasmuch as he was also
vicar-general of that part of Carinthia under the Archbishop of Salzburg. The rights of a secular ''
Vogt'' advocate were held by the Carinthian dukes.
After a contest of a hundred years the metropolitan regained the right of appointment. Dissensions did not cease, for in 1432 the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
duke
Frederick IV of Austria
Frederick IV (1382 – 24 June 1439), also known as Frederick of the Empty Pockets (german: Friedrich mit der leeren Tasche), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1402 until his death. As a scion of the Habsburg Leopoldian ...
claimed the right of investiture, which even was a subject of the consultations at the
Council of Basel under
Pope Eugene IV. In 1448 King
Frederick IV of Germany concluded an agreement with
Pope Nicholas V to reserve the right of appointment for himself and when in 1470
Sixtus of Tannberg was appointed Gurk bishop by the Salzburg chapter, Frederick enforced his resignation four years later. Finally, on 25 October 1535, the Archbishop of Salzburg and former Gurk bishop,
Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, concluded a long-lasting agreement with King
Ferdinand I of Germany, according to which the nomination of the Bishop of Gurk is to rest twice in succession with the sovereign and every third time with the Archbishop of Salzburg; under all circumstances the archbishop was to retain the right of confirmation, consecration and investiture. Though from 1460 onwards the Gurk bishops held the right to bear the title of a
prince-bishop, they never exerted any secular power.
Modern times
In 1761
Count Hieronymus von Colloredo was appointed Bishop of Gurk by Archbishop
Sigismund von Schrattenbach, whom Colloredo succeeded in 1771. Under Bishop
Joseph Franz Auersperg, a dedicated follower of
Josephinism, the Gurk diocese received an accession of territory by Emperor
Joseph II in 1775, and again in 1786. Nevertheless the present extent of the diocese, embracing the whole of Carinthia, dates only from its reconstitution in 1859. The episcopal residence was transferred in 1787 to the capital of Carinthia,
Klagenfurt. A prominent modern prince-bishop was
Valentin Wiery (1858–1880).
According to the census of 1906, the Catholic population of the diocese was 369,000, of whom three-fourths were German and the rest Slovenes. The 24 deaneries embraced 345 parishes. The cathedral chapter at Klagenfurt consisted of three mitred dignitaries; five honorary and five stipendiary canons. Among the institutions of religious orders the Benedictine Abbey of St. Paul (founded in 1091; suppressed in 1782; restored in 1807) holds first place. There were also
Jesuits at Klagenfurt and St. Andrä;
Dominicans at Friesach;
Capuchins at Klagenfurt and Wolfsberg;
Franciscans at Villach;
Olivetans at Tanzenberg; Servites at Kötsehach;
Brothers of Mercy at St. Veit on the Glan (in charge of an immense hospital founded in 1877); and a number of religious communities of women for the care of the sick and the instruction of youth.
The clergy are trained in the episcopal seminary at Klagenfurt, which has been, since 1887, under the direction of the
Jesuits. The professors are
Benedictines
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
from the
Abbey of Saint Paul and Jesuits. The education of aspirants to the priesthood is provided for at Klagenfurt, in a preparatory seminary established by Bishop Wiery in 1860 and enlarged by Bishop Kahn. At Saint Paul's the Benedictines conduct a private
gymnasium with the privileges of a government school. At Klagenfurt there is also a Catholic teachers' seminary under ecclesiastical supervision.
Churches
Chief among the examples of ecclesiastical architecture, both in point of age and artistic interest, is
Gurk Cathedral, which dates back to the beginnings of the diocese, having been completed about 1220. Also worthy of note are the
Romanesque church and cloister of
Millstatt Abbey and, as monuments of
Gothic architecture, the parish churches at
Bad Sankt Leonhard im Lavanttal
Bad Sankt Leonhard im Lavanttal ( sl, Sveti Lenart v Labotu) is a spa town in the district of Wolfsberg in the Austrian state of Carinthia.
Geography
The municipality lies in the upper Lavant valley (''Lavanttal'') north of the district capita ...
,
Heiligenblut,
Villach,
Völkermarkt, St Wolfgang ob Grades (
Metnitz), and Waitschach (
Hüttenberg). One of the largest and most beautiful churches of Carinthia is the Dominican Church at
Friesach. The
Klagenfurt Cathedral was built in 1591 during the
Protestant Reformation; in 1604 it was acquired by the Jesuits, and consecrated in honour of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul.
Prominent among the places of pilgrimage in the diocese is
Maria Saal, visited annually by from 15,000 to 20,000 pilgrims. Among Catholic associations special mention should be made of those for the advancement of the Catholic Press and for the diffusion of good books: for the German population, the St. Joseph's Verein founded at Klagenfurt in 1893, and the St. Joseph's Book Confraternity; for the Slovenes, the St. Hermagoras Verein, established in 1852 (1860), with its headquarters at Klagenfurt, and widely established among Slovenes in other dioceses.
Special churches
* Former Cathedrals:
**
Sankt Andrä, Kärnten
** Assumption of Mary provost and pilgrimage church,
Maria Saal
* Minor Basilica:
** Maria Luggau (Our Lady of the Snows),
Lesachtal
Deaneries
*
Bleiburg (''Pliberk'')
*
Eberndorf
Eberndorf ( sl, Dobrla vas, archaically ''Dobrla ves'') is a market town of the Völkermarkt District in Carinthia, Austria.
Geography
It is the main settlement in the Jaun (''Podjuna'') Valley of the Drava River, east of the Carinthian capita ...
(''Dobrla vas'')
*
Feldkirchen
*
Ferlach (''Borovlje'')
*
Friesach
*
Gmünd-
Millstatt
*
Greifenburg
*
Gurk
*
Hermagor (''Šmohor'')
*
Klagenfurt-Stadt
*
Klagenfurt-Land (''Celovec-dežela'')
*
Kötschach
*
Krappfeld
*
Obervellach
*
Rosegg (''Rožek'')
*
Sankt Andrä
*
Sankt Veit an der Glan
Sankt Veit an der Glan (; sl, Šentvid ob Glini) is a town in the Austrian state of Carinthia, the administrative centre of the Sankt Veit an der Glan District. It was the historic Carinthian capital until 1518. The famous chef Wolfgang Puck was ...
*
Spittal an der Drau
*
Tainach (''Tinje'')
*
Villach-Land (''Beljak-dežela'')
*
Villach-Stadt
*
Völkermarkt (''Velikovec'')
*
Wolfsberg
Notable bishops
*
Sixtus of Tannberg (1470–1474)
*
Raymond Peraudi
Raymond Peraudi (1435–1505) was a French Augustinian, papal legate, and Cardinal. He was a perpetual traveler, engaging in diplomatic negotiations at various times for the pope, the emperor and the king of France. He was an effective administrato ...
(1491–1505)
*Cardinal
Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg (1505–1522)
*
Hieronymus Balbus Hieronymus Balbus (also called Girolamo Balbi or Accellini) was a Renaissance Humanist, poet, diplomat, and Bishop of Gurk in Carinthia, b. about 1450 in Venice; d. there, probably 1535.
He was a pupil of Julius Pomponius Laetus, the founder of th ...
(1522–1526)
*
Sigismund Francis, Archduke of Austria (1653–1665)
*Archbishop
Count Hieronymus von Colloredo (1761–1772)
*Cardinal
Joseph Franz Auersperg (1772–1783)
*
Valentin Wiery (1858–1880)
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Austria
References and notes
External links
GCatholic.org
Catholic Hierarchy
Diocese website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurk
Roman Catholic dioceses in Austria
Roman Catholic dioceses established in the 11th century
Gurk, Roman Catholic Diocese of
Maria Saal