Roman Catholic Diocese of Linz
Encyclopedia
The Diocese of Linz is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Vienna, Austria
.
the greater part of the territory of the present Diocese of Linz was subject to the bishops of Lauriacum (Lorch
); at a later date it formed part of the great Diocese of Passau, which extended from the Isar
to the Leitha. The Prince-Bishop of Passau personally administered the upper part or Upper Austria
, while an auxiliary bishop
, having his residence in Vienna
and called the Official, administered for him the eastern part or Lower Austria
.
To do away with the political influence in his territories of the bishops of Passau
, who were also princes of the Empire, Joseph II
decided to found two new dioceses. These were in Linz and St. Pölten, which in a certain measure were to renew the old Lauriacum, and the emperor only awaited the death of Cardinal Firmian, then Bishop of Passau, to carry out his plans.
The cardinal's eyes were scarcely closed (d. 13 March 1783), before the emperor on 16 March seized all the landed property of the Diocese of Passau in his territories.
By an agreement of 4 July 1784, the confiscation of all the properties and rights belonging to the Diocese of Passau in Austria was annulled, and the tithes and revenues were restored to it.
The first bishop
(1785-8), Ernest Johann Nepomuk Graf Herberstein
, formerly titular Bishop of Eucarpia, had been the Official of the Prince-Bishop of Passau and Vicar-General of Lower Austria.
The next bishop, Joseph Anton Gall
(1788–1807), was a political ally of Joseph II
and of josephinism
. The third Bishop of Linz, Sigismund Ernst Hohenwart
had been a cathedral canon of Gurk and Vicar-General of Klagenfurt. His successor was the Benedictine Gregorius Thomas Ziegler
(1827–52), formerly Bishop of Tarnov.
The session of the Third German Catholic Congress, held at Linz in 1850, also strengthened the Church in the diocese. A great development of religious life in the diocese resulted from the restored liberties of the Church. Much of the credit for this growth is due to the vigorous and unwearied labours of the fifth bishop, the Franz-Josef Rudigier
(1853–84), who opposed the Interconfessional laws
of 1868.
His successor, Ernst Maria Müller, had only a short episcopate (1885-8). In the next bishop, Franz Maria Doppelbauer
(1889–1908), the diocese received a truly apostolic head, whose influence extended far beyond his own sphere of work. The present bishop is Ludwig Schwarz
.
cathedral
of the Immaculate Conception, built from the plans of the Cologne
architect
, Vincenz Statz, was begun in 1862 and consecrated in 1905; the tower, 443 feet (135 m) high, was finished in 1902. The old cathedral, originally the church of the Jesuits, was built in the Baroque
style between 1669 and 1682. There are several old collegiate churches (St. Florian, Kremsmünster, Mondsee, Lambach, Garsten, Reichersberg, Wilhering, etc.), originally built in the Romanesque period and nearly all rebuilt in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the Baroque style.
The most important churches in the Baroque style of architecture are the collegiate churches of St. Florian (1636–1745), and of Baumgartenberg (rebuilt 1684-1718). The most important buildings of the Gothic
period are the parish church at Steyr (begun in 1443), with a tower 263 feet (80 m) high, and the church of the hospital at Braunau on the Inn (1439–92), with a tower 300 feet high. A work of sculpture celebrated in the history of art is the high altar at St. Wolfgang carved by Michael Pacher in 1481.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Early history
In the early Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the greater part of the territory of the present Diocese of Linz was subject to the bishops of Lauriacum (Lorch
Enns (city)
Enns is a city in the Austrian state of Upper Austria, located 281 m above sea level on the river Enns, which forms the border with the state of Lower Austria....
); at a later date it formed part of the great Diocese of Passau, which extended from the Isar
Isar
The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald, and flows through Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching the Danube near Deggendorf. At 295 km in length, it is the fourth largest river...
to the Leitha. The Prince-Bishop of Passau personally administered the upper part or Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
, while an auxiliary bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, having his residence in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and called the Official, administered for him the eastern part or Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
.
To do away with the political influence in his territories of the bishops of Passau
Passau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
, who were also princes of the Empire, Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
decided to found two new dioceses. These were in Linz and St. Pölten, which in a certain measure were to renew the old Lauriacum, and the emperor only awaited the death of Cardinal Firmian, then Bishop of Passau, to carry out his plans.
The cardinal's eyes were scarcely closed (d. 13 March 1783), before the emperor on 16 March seized all the landed property of the Diocese of Passau in his territories.
By an agreement of 4 July 1784, the confiscation of all the properties and rights belonging to the Diocese of Passau in Austria was annulled, and the tithes and revenues were restored to it.
The first bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
(1785-8), Ernest Johann Nepomuk Graf Herberstein
Ernest Johann Nepomuk Graf Herberstein
Ernest Johann Nepomuk Graf Herberstein was the first bishop of the diocese of Linz from 1785 to 1788.-Imperial nomination:Formerly titular Bishop of Eucarpia, he had been the Official of the Prince-Bishop of Passau and Vicar-General of Lower Austria. The appointment was confirmed by the pope on 14...
, formerly titular Bishop of Eucarpia, had been the Official of the Prince-Bishop of Passau and Vicar-General of Lower Austria.
The next bishop, Joseph Anton Gall
Joseph Anton Gall
Joseph Anton Gall was the bishop of Linz from 1788 to 1807.He had been of great service to the Austrian school system as cathedral scholasticus and chief supervisor of the normal schools...
(1788–1807), was a political ally of Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
and of josephinism
Josephinism
Josephinism is the term used to describe the domestic policies of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor . During the ten years in which Joseph was the sole ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy , he attempted to legislate a series of drastic reforms to remodel Austria in the form of the ideal Enlightened state...
. The third Bishop of Linz, Sigismund Ernst Hohenwart
Sigismund Ernst Hohenwart
Sigismund Ernst Hohenwart was the third bishop of Linz from 1809 to 1825.He had been a cathedral canon of Gurk and Vicar-General of Klagenfurt...
had been a cathedral canon of Gurk and Vicar-General of Klagenfurt. His successor was the Benedictine Gregorius Thomas Ziegler
Gregorius Thomas Ziegler
Gregorius Thomas Ziegler, bishop of Linz , was born at Kirchheim in Schwaben near Augsburg. He joined the Benedictines at Wiblingen Abbey in 1788 and was ordained priest on 25 May 1793...
(1827–52), formerly Bishop of Tarnov.
Revolution of 1848
The Revolution of 1848 not only increased political liberty, but also gave to the Church greater independence in its own province.The session of the Third German Catholic Congress, held at Linz in 1850, also strengthened the Church in the diocese. A great development of religious life in the diocese resulted from the restored liberties of the Church. Much of the credit for this growth is due to the vigorous and unwearied labours of the fifth bishop, the Franz-Josef Rudigier
Franz-Josef Rudigier
Franz-Josef Rudigier was the bishop of Linz in Austria from 1853 to 1884.He was the fifth bishop of the diocese, and much of local Church's growth is due to his vigorous and unwearied labors...
(1853–84), who opposed the Interconfessional laws
Interconfessional laws
The Interconfessional laws were a series of 19th century laws in Austria which were meant to install a government based on Separation of Church and State and voted on 25 May, 1868.-Opposition:...
of 1868.
His successor, Ernst Maria Müller, had only a short episcopate (1885-8). In the next bishop, Franz Maria Doppelbauer
Franz Maria Doppelbauer
Franz Maria Doppelbauer was the bishop of Linz from 1889 to 1908.He was a patron and promoter of Catholic interests in Austria. He gave encouragement to Catholic associations and the Catholic press, establishing personally a newspaper....
(1889–1908), the diocese received a truly apostolic head, whose influence extended far beyond his own sphere of work. The present bishop is Ludwig Schwarz
Ludwig Schwarz
Ludwig Schwarz, S.D.B. is the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Linz, Austria.-Life:Ludwig Schwarz was the first of nine children and grew up in Most pri Bratislave. After the expulsion of his family from Slovakia in 1945, he arrived in Vienna, where he attended primary school...
.
Churches
The GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of the Immaculate Conception, built from the plans of the Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, Vincenz Statz, was begun in 1862 and consecrated in 1905; the tower, 443 feet (135 m) high, was finished in 1902. The old cathedral, originally the church of the Jesuits, was built in the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style between 1669 and 1682. There are several old collegiate churches (St. Florian, Kremsmünster, Mondsee, Lambach, Garsten, Reichersberg, Wilhering, etc.), originally built in the Romanesque period and nearly all rebuilt in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the Baroque style.
The most important churches in the Baroque style of architecture are the collegiate churches of St. Florian (1636–1745), and of Baumgartenberg (rebuilt 1684-1718). The most important buildings of the Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
period are the parish church at Steyr (begun in 1443), with a tower 263 feet (80 m) high, and the church of the hospital at Braunau on the Inn (1439–92), with a tower 300 feet high. A work of sculpture celebrated in the history of art is the high altar at St. Wolfgang carved by Michael Pacher in 1481.
List of Bishops
- Ernest Johann Nepomuk Graf HerbersteinErnest Johann Nepomuk Graf HerbersteinErnest Johann Nepomuk Graf Herberstein was the first bishop of the diocese of Linz from 1785 to 1788.-Imperial nomination:Formerly titular Bishop of Eucarpia, he had been the Official of the Prince-Bishop of Passau and Vicar-General of Lower Austria. The appointment was confirmed by the pope on 14...
(1783–1788) - Joseph Anton GallJoseph Anton GallJoseph Anton Gall was the bishop of Linz from 1788 to 1807.He had been of great service to the Austrian school system as cathedral scholasticus and chief supervisor of the normal schools...
(1789–1807) - Sigismund Ernst HohenwartSigismund Ernst HohenwartSigismund Ernst Hohenwart was the third bishop of Linz from 1809 to 1825.He had been a cathedral canon of Gurk and Vicar-General of Klagenfurt...
(1809–1825) - Gregorius Thomas ZieglerGregorius Thomas ZieglerGregorius Thomas Ziegler, bishop of Linz , was born at Kirchheim in Schwaben near Augsburg. He joined the Benedictines at Wiblingen Abbey in 1788 and was ordained priest on 25 May 1793...
(1827–1852) - Franz-Josef RudigierFranz-Josef RudigierFranz-Josef Rudigier was the bishop of Linz in Austria from 1853 to 1884.He was the fifth bishop of the diocese, and much of local Church's growth is due to his vigorous and unwearied labors...
(1853–1884) - Ernest Maria Müller (1885–1888)
- Franz Maria DoppelbauerFranz Maria DoppelbauerFranz Maria Doppelbauer was the bishop of Linz from 1889 to 1908.He was a patron and promoter of Catholic interests in Austria. He gave encouragement to Catholic associations and the Catholic press, establishing personally a newspaper....
(1889–1908) - Rudolph Hittmair (1909–1915)
- Johannes Maria Gföllner (1915–1941)
- Josephus Calasanz Fließer (1946–1955)
- Franz Salesius Zauner (1956–1980)
- Maximilian AichernMaximilian AichernMaximilian Aichen OSB is an Austrian Roman Catholic bishop who was the ordinary of the diocese of Linz from 1982 to 2005.- Life :...
(1981–2005) - Ludwig SchwarzLudwig SchwarzLudwig Schwarz, S.D.B. is the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Linz, Austria.-Life:Ludwig Schwarz was the first of nine children and grew up in Most pri Bratislave. After the expulsion of his family from Slovakia in 1945, he arrived in Vienna, where he attended primary school...
(2005-)