Wilhering Cistercian Abbey in Austria, Upper Austria Resort
Rating: 7,8/10 (101 votes)  The Cistercian monastery Wilchering is located near the city of Linz, in Upper Austria. The founders of the monastery were Kolo and Ulrich Wilchering, who at the request of their late father, they turned the old family castle into a monastery complex. The first settlers of the monastery were the Augustinians, however, in 1146 Ulrich granted the monastery to the Cistercians. After 40 years, only two monks remained in the monastery. In 1185, monks who arrived from Ebrach settled in the monastery complex, who soon created a Cistercian community. During the Reformation, the history of the abbey was almost over - and ndash; Erasmus Mayer, the then abbot of the monastery, fled to Nuremberg, where he married and broke his vow of celibacy. After such events, the monastery began to empty, and by 1585 there were no monks left in it. Thanks to the efforts of Alexander Lacoux, the then abbot, the abbey was nevertheless preserved. In 1733, a massive fire broke out in the monastery, almost completely destroying all buildings. Only part of the Gothic monastery, a Romanesque door and a couple of tombstones survived. Urgent renovations were carried out in the complex by Abbot Johann. Later, Johann Haslinger completely rebuilt the complex in the Rococo style. In 1940, the Nazis confiscated the abbey, while expelling all the monks – some of them were arrested and sent to camps, the other part was sent to military service. The abbot of the monastery Bernhard Burgstaller died of starvation after his arrest in 1941. At first, the monastery buildings were used to house the seminary, and since 1944 - – as a German military hospital. In 1945, the abbey was captured by the American army. In the same year, the monks returned to the monastery.   We also recommend reading Old town in Finland, Porvoo resort Topic: Wilhering Cistercian Abbey in Austria, Upper Austria Resort. |
