Schottenstift, Vienna
Encyclopedia
The Schottenstift or Scottish Abbey (full name: Benediktinerabtei unserer Lieben Frau zu den Schotten, "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...

 Abbey of Our Dear Lady of the Scots") is a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 founded 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...

 in 1155 when Henry II brought Irish monks to Vienna. The monks did not come directly from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, but came instead from St Jakob's
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...

, the Irish monastery in Regensburg
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...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Since 1625, the abbey has been a member of the Austrian Congregation
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 monasteries in Austria:*Altenburg Abbey*Garsten...

, now within the Benedictine Confederation
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...

.

History

In the early Middle Ages, Irish monks were actively involved in missionary work
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...

. Ireland was known in Latin as "Scotia Major"; 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
Klosterneuburg
Klosterneuburg is an attractive small town in Lower Austria, Austria with a population of 24,442.It is located on the Danube, immediately north of Vienna, from which it is separated by the Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg hills...

 to 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 therefore, 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 service in the new ducal city. The "Schotten" were also involved with the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

, which was founded in 1365.

Henry supplied the new monastery with extensive privileges
Privilege
A privilege is a special entitlement to immunity granted by the state or another authority to a restricted group, either by birth or on a conditional basis. It can be revoked in certain circumstances. In modern democratic states, a privilege is conditional and granted only after birth...

. Construction of the first monastery started in 1160, and the structure was consecrated in 1200. The monks built their monastery in an area that was at that time outside of the city walls of Vienna. They also constructed a hospice for pilgrams 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 and many other buildings in Vienna.

In 1418, Duke Albert V
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...

 seized the cloister during the Melker Reform, an attempt to revive the original ideals of Benedictine monasticism, and settled a community of Benedictines
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...

 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 school-master, Wolfgang Schmeltzl, and his successor, Johannes Rasch.

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. In the process, the length of the church was somewhat reduced, with the result that the tower no longer stands directly beside the basilica. Joachim von Sandrart
Joachim 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. 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.

Around 1700 the great Baroque musician Johann Fux
Johann Fux
Johann 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 the organist for the Schottenstift.

In 1773 and 1774, a new priorate, with school, was built by Andreas Zach on the grounds of an open-air cemetery. As it resembled a bureau, 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
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...

 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
Freyung (Vienna)
The Freyung is a triangular public square in Vienna, located in the first district, or Innere Stadt.-History:The square originally lay outside the Roman fortification walls of Vindabona. In the 12th century, Irish monks arrived by invitation of Duke Henry II of Austria to build a monastery...

, were renovated and partially rebuilt by Joseph Kornhäusel
Joseph Kornhäusel
Josef Georg Kornhäusel was an Austrian architect of the first half of the 19th century...

.

In the 1880s the church was restored and partially renovated. To this period, date the ceiling paintings by Julius Schmid, and a new high altar, built after sketches by Heinrich von Ferstel
Heinrich von Ferstel
thumb|right|The [[Votivkirche]], Vienna, designed by FerstelHeinrich von Ferstel thumb|right|The [[Votivkirche]], Vienna, designed by FerstelHeinrich von Ferstel thumb|right|The [[Votivkirche]], Vienna, designed by FerstelHeinrich von Ferstel (July 7, 1828, Vienna - 14 July 1883, Grinzing, near...

, with a mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

 by Michael Rieser.

In the court, there is a Schwarze Muttergottes (a "Black Madonna
Black Madonna
A Black Madonna or Black Virgin is a statue or painting of the Virgin Mary in which the Virgin Mary is black. The term was especially applied to those created in Europe in the medieval period or earlier...

"), which was designed in 1825 by Peter Nobile. The fountain, with a statue of Henry II, is the work of Sebastian Wagner.

Museum

The museum has been reinstalled twice in recent history, in 1994/95 and in 2004/5. 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.

Open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm, Guided Tour on Saturday, 2.30 pm (church, krypta, library and museum).

Location

The Schottenstift is located on the Freyung
Freyung (Vienna)
The Freyung is a triangular public square in Vienna, located in the first district, or Innere Stadt.-History:The square originally lay outside the Roman fortification walls of Vindabona. In the 12th century, Irish monks arrived by invitation of Duke Henry II of Austria to build a monastery...

(Freyung 6, A-1010 Wien) in Vienna, Austria.

External links



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