In the early Middle Ages, Irish monks were actively involved in missionary work. Ireland was known in Latin as "Scotia Major";[1] therefore, in German, Irish monks were called "Schotten" (Scots) or "Iroschotten". The monasteries that they founded were called "Schottenklöster". In the foundation documents of the Schottenstift, Henry II specified that it was to be occupied exclusively by these "Iroschotten" ("Solos elegimus Scottos").
Henry II was elevated from the rank of Margrave (Markgraf) to that of Duke (Herzog) in 1156. He moved his residence from Klosterneuburg to Vienna and required a monastery for his new city. In the Middle Ages, monasteries were not only places for prayer, but also and above all, repositories of knowledge. The foundation of a monastery gave the ruler support for his administration (for example, schools to educate competent scribes). It also provided a library, a hospice and old age home, architects, educated men, and priests to conduct services in the new ducal city. The "Schotten" would also be involved with the University of Vienna, which was founded in 1365.
Henry granted the new monastery extensive privileges. Construction of the first monastery started in 1160, and the structure was consecrated in 1200. The monastery was outside the city walls of Vienna. The monks also built a hospice for pilgrims and crusaders, who often passed through Vienna on their way to Jerusalem.
The first church was a three-aisled, Romanesque, pillar church with a single apse. Henry II was buried there upon his death in 1177.
A fire in the year 1276 destroyed the cloister, along with many other buildings in Vienna.
In 1418, Duke Albert V seized the cloister during the Melker Reform, an attempt to revive the original ideals of Benedictine monasticism, and settled a community of Benedictines in their place. These new residents, however, continued to be known as the "Schotten".
In the middle of the 15th century, the monastery was distinguished through the literary activities of its schoolmaster, Wolfgang Schmeltzl, and his successor, Johannes Rasch.
Schottenstift copper engraving, 1672
The collapse of the tower, struck by a lightning bolt in 1638, was seized as an opportunity to completely rebuild the church, a project undertaken by the architects Andrea d'Allio the Younger and Silvestro Carlone. The church was somewhat shortened, and the tower no longer stood directly beside the basilica. Joachim von Sandrart provided the church with a new altar piece, which today is kept in the prelates' hall. After the Turkish siege, the church was restored. As the Baroque west tower was barely higher than the façade itself, its extension has often been proposed, but this has never come to fruition.
Around 1700 the great Baroque musician Johann Fux was the organist at the Schottenstift.
In 1773 and 1774, a new priory, with school, was built by Andreas Zach in the grounds of an open air cemetery. As it resembled a piece of furniture, it became popularly known as the Schubladkastenhaus ("the chest-of-drawers house"). Directly next door stood the Hotel Römischer Kaiser, where the first public performance of a song by Franz Schubert was held.
In 1807 the Schottengymnasium, an institute for secondary education, was founded by imperial decree.
Around 1830, the auxiliary buildings of the Abbey, in particular those that bordered on the Freyung, were renovated and partially rebuilt by Joseph Kornhäusel.
In the 1880s the church was restored and partially renovated. From this period date the ceiling paintings by Julius Schmid, and a new high altar, built from sketches by Heinrich von Ferstel, with a mosaic by Michael Rieser.
In the court, there is a Schwarze Muttergottes (a "Black Madonna"), designed in 1825 by Peter Nobile. The fountain, with a statue of Henry II, is the work of Sebastian Wagner.
Museum
Schottenmeisteraltar from ca. 1470
The museum has been reinstalled twice in recent history, in 1994/95 [2] and in 2004/5.[citation needed] It contains, among other notable items, the Schottenmeisteraltar from ca. 1470, which is not only a significant work of late Gothic art, but also an important historical source, on account of its views of the city.[citation needed]
Open on Thursday until Friday, 11 am to 5 pm, and Saturday, 11 am to 4.30 pm. Guided Tour on Saturday, 2.30 pm (church, crypt, library and museum).[3]
Location
The Schottenstift is located on the Freyung (Freyung 6, A-1010 Wien) in Vienna, Austria.
Related Research Articles
The Schottenkirche is a parish church in Vienna attached to the Schottenstift, founded by Irish Benedictine monks in the 12th century. In 1418, the Duke Albert V of Austria transferred it to the German-speaking Benedictine monks from the Melk Abbey during the Melker Reform initiated after the Council of Constance. The church was elevated to the rank of Basilica Minor in 1958.
Zwettl Abbey is a Cistercian monastery located in Zwettl in Lower Austria, in the Diocese of St. Pölten.
Alpirsbach Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery and later Protestant seminary located at Alpirsbach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The monastery was established in the late 11th century and possessed considerable freedoms for an ecclesiastical property at that time, but in the 13th century it became a de facto possession of the Dukes of Teck and then the County of Württemberg. In the 15th century, the monastery enjoyed economic prosperity and was expanded but was dissolved with the conversion of the by-then Duchy of Württemberg to Lutheranism in the 16th century. The monastery became a seminary and boarding school until the 17th century and was physically reduced over the 19th century by land sales and demolition. Over the second half of the 20th century, the monastery was turned into a cultural fixture with annual concerts of Classical music and a museum of its history.
Muri Abbey was a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It flourished for over eight centuries at Muri, in the Canton of Aargau, near Zürich, Switzerland. While the monastery is currently established as Muri-Gries in South Tyrol, the former abbey is now a museum and heritage site of national significance.
The Scots Monastery is the former Benedictine Abbey of St James (Jakobskirche) in Regensburg, Germany. It was founded in the 11th century by Irish missionaries and for most of its history was in the hands of first Irish, then Scottish monks. In Middle Latin, Scotti meant Gaels, not differentiating Ireland from Scotland, so that the term Schottenstift dates from the Irish period. The full official name of the actual church, the most prominent building within the abbey complex, is Die irische Benediktinerklosterkirche St. Jakob und St. Gertrud.
The Hiberno-Scottish mission was a series of expeditions in the 6th and 7th centuries by Gaelic missionaries originating from Ireland that spread Celtic Christianity in Scotland, Wales, England and Merovingian France. Catholic Christianity spread first within Ireland. Since the 8th and 9th centuries, these early missions were called 'Celtic Christianity'.
Göttweig Abbey is a Benedictine monastery near Krems in Lower Austria. It was founded in 1083 by Altmann, Bishop of Passau.
The Freyung is a triangular public square in Vienna, located in the Innere Stadt first district of the city.
Admont Abbey is a Benedictine monastery located on the Enns River in the town of Admont, Styria, Austria. The oldest remaining monastery in Styria, Admont Abbey contains the largest monastic library in the world as well as a long-established scientific collection. It is known for its Baroque architecture, art, and manuscripts.
Garsten Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery located in Garsten near Steyr in Upper Austria. Since 1851, the former monastery buildings have accommodated a prison.
Seeon Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in the municipality of Seeon-Seebruck in the rural district of Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany.
Wilhering Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in Wilhering in Upper Austria, about 8 km (5 mi) from Linz. It was founded in 1146. The buildings, re-constructed in the 18th century, are known for their spectacular Rococo decoration.
Millstatt Abbey is a former monastery in Millstatt, Austria. Established by Benedictine monks about 1070, it ranks among the most important Romanesque buildings in the state of Carinthia. The Benedictines were succeeded by the knightly Order of Saint George in 1469 and the Society of Jesus in 1598.
St. James's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Würzburg. It was founded as a Scottish monastery by Embrico, Bishop of Würzburg, about 1134.
St. Stephen's Abbey in Würzburg, Germany, was a Benedictine monastery, founded c.1013. It existed until 1803.
St Egidien on Egidienplatz is the former Benedictine Abbey of Saint Giles (Egidienskirche), now a church in the former free imperial city of Nuremberg, southern Germany. It is considered a significant contribution to the baroque church architecture of Middle Franconia.
Kloster Allerheiligen is a former Benedictine monastery in the Swiss municipality of Schaffhausen in the Canton of Schaffhausen. The church Münster Allerheiligen is the oldest building in Schaffhausen, and houses also the Museum zu Allerheiligen.
Altmann was the Bishop of Passau from 1065 until his death. He was an important representative of the Gregorian reforms, monastic founder and reformer. He is venerated as a saint, but not officially canonised.
The Schottenkirche in the historical part of the city of Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany, is a Roman Catholic church building dating back to the 12th century. The Romanesque basilica belonged to a former Celtic monastery of St James. Today, it is a subsidiary church of the Catholic parish of St Lawrence's Church.
Heinrich Ferenczy (Text), Christoph Merth (Fotos): Das Schottenstift und seine Kunstwerke. Orac, Vienna 1980, ISBN3-85368-859-4.
Franz Goldhann (Hrsg.): Gülten-Buch des Schottenklosters in Wien v. J. 1314–1327. In: Quellen und Forschungen zur vaterländischen Geschichte, Literatur und Kunst. Braumüller, Vienna 1849, S. 163–208.
Cölestin Roman Rapf: Das Schottenstift. (= Wiener Geschichtsbücher; Bd. 13). Zsolnay, Vienna and Hamburg 1974, ISBN3-552-02607-X.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Schottenstift.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
