Schottenkirche, Vienna
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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...
attached to the Schottenstift
Schottenstift, Vienna
The Schottenstift or Scottish Abbey is a Roman Catholic monastery founded in Vienna in 1155 when Henry II brought Irish monks to Vienna. The monks did not come directly from Ireland, but came instead from St Jakob's, the Irish monastery in Regensburg, Germany...
, founded by Iro-Scottish Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks in the 12th century. In 1418, the Duke Albert V of Austria
Albert II of Germany
Albert the Magnanimous KG was King of Hungary from 1438 until his death. He was also King of Bohemia, elected King of Germany as Albert II, duke of Luxembourg and, as Albert V, archduke of Austria from 1404.-Biography:Albert was born in Vienna as the son of Albert IV, Duke of Austria, and Johanna...
transferred it to the German-speaking Benedictine
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
monks from the Melk Abbey
Melk Abbey
Melk Abbey or Stift Melk is an Austrian Benedictine abbey, and one of the world's most famous monastic sites. It is located above the town of Melk on a rocky outcrop overlooking the river Danube in Lower Austria, adjoining the Wachau valley....
during the Melker Reform initiated after the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...
. The church has been elevated to the rank of Basilica Minor in 1958.
The Schottenkirche is located in the Freyung
Freyung
Freyung may refer to:* Freyung, Bavaria* Freyung-Grafenau, a district in Bavaria* Passau–Freyung railway, a branch line in Bavaria* Freyung , a public square in Vienna...
in the first district of Vienna's
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...
Innere Stadt
Innere Stadt
The Innere Stadt is the 1st municipal District of Vienna . The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Innere Stadt was congruent with the city of Vienna...
.
History
Scottish and Irish missionaries (Iro-Scottish, Hiberno-Scottish) were instrumental in the spread of Christianity in Continental Europe during the 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...
. Of special importance in Austria is Saint Koloman
Coloman of Stockerau
Saint Coloman of Stockerau is a saint of the Catholic Church. He was a monk of either Irish or Scottish origin and of royal lineage who was accused of being a spy while on penitential pilgrimage to Jerusalem...
of Stockerau (of Melk) killed near 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...
in 1012. This Iro-Scottish monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
of royal lineage killed at Stockerau
Stockerau
Stockerau is a town in the district of Korneuburg in Lower Austria, Austria.Leisure facilities are various: wellness centre, sports centre with three gyms, judo and table tennis gym, skittle alley and football stadium...
while on pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
to Jerusalem has been patron saint of Austria until 1663.
During the 11th and the 12th century, Scottish Monasteries intended for Scottish and Irish monks exclusively sprang up. The famous Scottish Monastery of St. Jacob at Ratisbon
Scots Monastery, Regensburg
The Scots Monastery is a Benedictine abbey of St James in Regensburg, Germany. It was founded by Hiberno-Scottish missionaries and for most of its history was in the hands of first Irish, then Scottish monks, whence its name The Scots Monastery is a Benedictine abbey of St James (Jakobskirche) in...
was built around 1090 by Burgrave Otto of Ratisbon in Ratisbon
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
became the mother-house of a series of other Scots Monasteries
Hiberno-Scottish mission
The Hiberno-Scottish mission was a mission led by Irish and Scottish monks which spread Christianity and established monasteries in Great Britain and continental Europe during the Middle Ages...
, among which the Our Blessed Lady
Schottenstift, Vienna
The Schottenstift or Scottish Abbey is a Roman Catholic monastery founded in Vienna in 1155 when Henry II brought Irish monks to Vienna. The monks did not come directly from Ireland, but came instead from St Jakob's, the Irish monastery in Regensburg, Germany...
at 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...
built in 1158.
Exterior
The first church was a three-aisled Romanesque pillar church with a single apse, destroyed by a fire in 1276.An earthquake circa 1443 greatly damaged the existing church on the site. Restorations were completed by 1449 but poorly done, due to lack of money, and on 21 May 1634, the roof collapsed in full view of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
.
The collapse of the tower, struck by a lightning bolt in 1638, was seized as an opportunity to completely rebuild the church in 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. From 1638–1641, the reconstruction was undertaken by the architects by Carlo Antonio Carlone and Marco Spazzio. From 1643–1648, Andrea Allio the Old, Andrea Allio the Young and Silvestro Carlone reworked the nave and the west side.
In the process, the length of the church was somewhat reduced, with the result that the tower no longer stands directly beside the basilica.
After the Turkish siege, the church was restored again. As the baroque west tower was barely higher than the facade itself, its extension has often been discussed, but these plans have never come to fruition. The choir tower was dedicated only in the year 1893.
Interior
Inside, the church is now in high-baroque style with several chapels. Joachim von SandrartJoachim von Sandrart
Joachim von Sandrart was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age.-Biography:Sandrart was born in Frankfurt, but the family originated from Mons...
provided the church with a new altar-piece, which today is kept in the prelates' hall.
Between 1883–1889, the high altar was built after sketches of Heinrich Ferstel, with Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
glass mosaics by Michael Riese. Julius Schmid
Julius Schmid
Julius Schmidt was the creator of the Sheik condom and the Ramses condom. .-Biography:He was born Jewish in Schorndorf, Germany on March 17, 1865. He emigrated to New York City at the age of 17, in 1882. He founded Schmid Laboratories in Little Falls, New Jersey in 1883....
(Austrian, 1854–1935) was artist for the fine ceiling paintings.
Trivia
- The great Baroque musician Johann FuxJohann FuxJohann Joseph Fux was an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era. He is most famous as the author of Gradus ad Parnassum, a treatise on counterpoint, which has become the single most influential book on the Palestrina style of Renaissance polyphony...
was its organist around 1690. - After composer Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
died in Vienna, a great memorial service was held in the Schottenkirche on 15 June 1809, at which Mozart’s Requiem K.626 was performed. - Noted film director Fritz LangFritz LangFriedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
was born in the parish and baptized in the Schottenkirche.