Göttweig Abbey (german: Stift Göttweig) is a

Benedictine , 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 ...

monastery near Krems in

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 ...

. It was founded in 1083 by Altmann, Bishop of Passau.

History

Göttweig Abbey was founded as a monastery of

canons regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

by Blessed Altmann (c. 1015–1091),

Bishop of Passau The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising."Göttweig Abbey", Donau Niederosterreich
/ref> the foundation charter, dated 9 September 1083, is still preserved in the abbey archives. By 1094 the discipline of the community had become so lax that Bishop Ulrich of Passau, with the permission of

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

, introduced the

Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

. Prior Hartmann of

St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest Saint Blaise Abbey (german: Kloster Sankt Blasien) was a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery in the village of Sankt Blasien, St. Blasien in the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History 9th–12th centuries The early hist ...

was elected abbot. He brought with him from St. Blaise's a number of chosen monks, among whom were Blessed Wirnto and Blessed

Berthold Berthold or Berchtold is a Germanic given name and surname. It is derived from two elements, ''berht'' meaning "bright" and ''wald'' meaning "(to) rule". It may refer to: *Bertholdt Hoover, a fictional List_of_Attack_on_Titan_characters, character ...

, later abbots of Formbach and

Garsten Garsten is a municipality in the district of Steyr-Land in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. History Garsten was first mentioned as Garstina in documentation around 990, and a monastery was founded there in 1082. After being fully rebuilt in B ...

respectively. Under Hartmann (1094–1114) Göttweig became a famous seat of learning and strict monastic observance. He founded a monastic school, organized a library, and at the foot of the hill built a nunnery where it is believed that Ava, the earliest

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

poetess known by name (d. 1127), lived as an anchorite. The nunnery, which was afterwards transferred to the top of the hill, continued to exist until 1557. During the 15th and 16th centuries, however, the abbey declined to such an extent that between 1556 and 1564 it had no abbot at all, and in 1564 not a single monk remained. At this crisis, an imperial deputation arrived at Göttweig and elected Michael Herrlich, a monk 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 ...

, as abbot. The new abbot, who held his office until 1603, restored the monastery spiritually and financially, and rebuilt it after it had been almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1580. Abbots distinguished during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

were George Falb (1612–1631) and David Corner (1631–1648), who successfully opposed the spread of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

in the district. In 1718 the monastery burned down and was rebuilt on a grander scale during the abbacy of

Gottfried Bessel Johann Franz Bessel (in religion Gottfried) (b. 5 September 1672, at Buchen, in the Grand Duchy of Baden; d. at Göttweig, 22 January 1749) was a German Benedictine abbot and historian. Life He made his course in the humanities at Aschaffenburg ...

(1714–1749) to designs by

Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (14 November 1668 – 16 November 1745) was an Austrian baroque architect and military engineer who designed stately buildings and churches and whose work had a profound influence on the architecture of the Habsburg E ...

inspired by the

Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up ...

. The fresco decorating the imperial staircase is considered a masterpiece of

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Executed by

Paul Troger Paul Troger (30 October 1698 – 20 July 1762) was an Austrian painter, draughtsman, and printmaker of the late Baroque period. Troger's illusionistic ceiling paintings in fresco are notable for their dramatic vitality of movement and their pale ...

in 1739, it represents the

Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI Charles VI (german: Karl; la, Carolus; 1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully claimed the thron ...

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

. The abbey has a library of 150,000 books and manuscripts, a particularly important collection of religious engravings, and valuable collections of coins, antiquities, musical manuscripts and natural history, all of which survived the dangers of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and its immediate aftermath almost without loss. Since 1625 the abbey has been a member of the

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 monaster ...

, now within the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Confœderatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti) is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monasti ...

, the monks number about 45. The abbey is part of the

Wachau The Wachau () is an Austrian valley with a picturesque landscape formed by the Danube river. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located midway between the towns of Melk and Krems that also attracts "connois ...

, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape.

Burials

* Hadmar I of Kuenring * Altmann of Passau

Commemorative Euro coin

Göttweig Abbey was selected as the main motif of a very high value collectors' coin: the Austrian Göttweig Abbey commemorative coin, minted on October 11, 2006. The obverse side shows the abbey with its fortress-like towers on top of the hill surrounded by trees and vineyards.

Gallery

Goettweig z00.jpg, Abbey Church and Cloister Stift Goettweig Stiftskirche02.jpg, Abbey church Stiftskirche Göttweig Innenraum 04.JPG, Nave, high altar, and pulpit Stiftskirche Göttweig Orgel 03.JPG, Nave and organ Erentrudis z01.JPG, Erentrudis Chapel Stift Göttweig Kaiserstiege Fresko 01.JPG, Imperial Staircase: Apotheosis of Charles VI (fresco by

, 1739) Stift Göttweig Gobelinzimmer 01.JPG, Tapestry room

References

Sources

* Lechner, Gregor, 1988: ''Das Benediktinerstift Gottweig in der Wachau und seine Sammlungen''. Munich: Schnell & Steiner. * ''Geschichte des Stiftes Göttweig 1083–1983. Festschrift zum 900-Jahr-Jubiläum''. EOS-Verlag, St. Ottilien 1983 (Studien und Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Benediktiner-Ordens und seiner Zweige, Bd. 94, H. I–II) * ''900 Jahre Stift Göttweig 1083-1983. Ein Donaustift als Repräsentant benediktinischer Kultur, Katalog zur Jubiläumsausstellung'', Stift Göttweig, Eigenverlag, 1983 * Lashofer, Clemens Anton,1983 : ''Professbuch des Benediktinerstiftes Göttweig''. EOS-Verlag, St. Ottilien (Studien und Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Benediktiner-Ordens und seiner Zweige, Erg.-Bd. 26)
Aichinger-Rosenberger, Peter, 2011: „Ecclesia beate mariae in monte kottwich. Zur mittelalterlichen Baugeschichte der Stiftskirche von Göttweig – Ergebnisse einer Bauforschung“. Dissertation for Vienna University

External links

*
Video of hiking the path leading up the hill and exploring Göttweig Abbey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottweig Abbey Benedictine monasteries in Austria Monasteries in Lower Austria Museums in Lower Austria Religious museums in Austria Art museums and galleries in Austria 1083 establishments in Europe