Gaming Charterhouse (german: Kartause Gaming, also known as ''Kartause Maria Thron'') is a former

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

monastery in

Gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playin ...

near

Scheibbs Scheibbs () is a town in Austria in the Scheibbs district of Lower Austria. In 1886, it became the first town in Austria to have street lighting powered by electricity. Population Mayors *1950-1965: Anton Herok *1965-1983: Alois Derfler *1983 ...

in the ''

Mostviertel (English: ''Most Quarter'') is the southwestern quarter of the four quarters of Lower Austria (the northeast state of the 9 states in Austria). It is bordered on the north by the Danube and to the south and west by the state borders of Styria ...

'' of

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. The monastery was founded in 1330 by

Albert II, Duke of Austria Albert II (12 December 1298 – 16 August 1358), known as ''the Wise'' or ''the Lame'', a member of the House of Habsburg, was duke of Austria and Styria from 1330, as well as duke of Carinthia and margrave of Carniola from 1335 until his death ...

, who intended it as a dynastic burial place. He himself was buried there after his death in 1358, as were his wife

Joanna of Pfirt Joanna of Pfirt (french: Jeanne de Ferrette; – 15 November 1351) was the Countess of Pfirt in her own right from 1324 and Duchess of Austria as consort of Duke Albert II from 1330 until her death. Life Born in Basel, Joanna was the eldest ...

(d. 1351) and his daughter-in-law Elisabeth of Bohemia (d. 1373). The first community, from Mauerbach Charterhouse in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, comprised a double complement, under a prior, of 24 monks rather than the usual 12, and the scale of the buildings from the beginning reflected the monastery's size. Gaming Charterhouse received extremely generous endowments from its founder, including much surrounding land in the valley of the Erlauf, and the town and market of Scheibbs. It was dissolved in 1782 in the

reforms Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

. In 1797 the bodies of the founder, his wife and daughter-in-law were removed to the parish church of Gaming, and in 1825 the monastery and estate, including large areas of forest, passed into private ownership. In 1915 it was bought by the abbot of

Melk Abbey Melk Abbey (german: Stift Melk) is a Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk, Lower Austria, Austria, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river, adjoining the Wachau valley. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the ...

. In 1983 the monastery premises, but not the remaining estates, were bought by an Austrian architect, Walter Hildebrand, who has since worked on the restoration. The renovated premises are partly occupied by a hotel and partly by

Franciscan University of Steubenville Franciscan University of Steubenville is a private Franciscan university in Steubenville, Ohio. The university had 3,040 students as of fall 2019, including 2,317 students on campus, in 40 undergraduate and 8 graduate degree programs. The studen ...

(main campus in Ohio, USA). Since 2004 there has also been a museum, with displays of the history of Gaming Charterhouse and of the Carthusians in general. Recently a

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

(Byzantine) chapel has been set up here.

Notes

Sources and external links

Kartause.at: Gaming Charterhouse church, with museum and universities

Gaming Charterhouse Hotel website

Monasterium.net: Kartause Gaming

Gaming Charterhouse: photographs

The Austria Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville
{{Authority control Carthusian monasteries in Austria 1380 establishments in Europe 1782 disestablishments in Austria Monasteries in Lower Austria Museums in Lower Austria Religious museums in Austria Establishments in the Duchy of Austria 1782 disestablishments in the Habsburg Monarchy 1782 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire

Notes

See also

Sources and external links