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monastery in Sankt Florian, Austria
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St. Florian Monastery (German: Stift Sankt Florian) is an Augustinian monastery in the town of Sankt Florian, Austria. Founded in the early ninth century, and later refounded by Augustinians in the eleventh century, St. Florian is the largest monastery in Upper Austria, and rivals Melk Abbey and Klosterneuburg Monastery, as among the most impressive examples of Baroque architecture in Austria. The monastery is dedicated to Saint Florian, whose fourth century grave lies beneath the monastery.
The monastery, named after Saint Florian, was founded in the Carolingian period. Since 1071 it has housed a community of Augustinian Canons, and is thus is one of the oldest operational monasteries in the world following the Rule of St. Augustine.
Between 1686 and 1708 the monastery complex was reconstructed in Baroque style by Carlo Antonio Carlone, whose masterpiece is St. Florian's. After his death, Jakob Prandtauer continued the work. The result is the biggest Baroque monastery in Upper Austria. Bartolomeo Altomonte created the frescoes.
Construction of the library wing began in 1744, under Johann Gotthard Hayberger. The library comprises about 130,000 items, including many manuscripts. The gallery contains numerous works of the 16th and 17th centuries, but also some late medieval works of the Danube School, particularly by Albrecht Altdorfer.
In 1827, Polish librarian Father Josef Chmel found one of the oldest Polish literary artifacts, an illuminated manuscript containing the Psalms in Latin, German and Polish in the monastery. Because of the site of discovery, it has been named the Sankt Florian Psalter, and now resides in the National Library of Poland.
In January 1941, the Gestapo seized the facility and expelled the monks. From 1942, the Reichsrundfunkgesellschaft ("Radio Society of the Third Reich"), under general director Heinrich Glasmeier, operated from here. The canons returned after the end of the war.
The premises now also house the Upper Austrian Fire Brigade Museum.
The canons' church was elevated to a basilica minor in 1999. It is dedicated to Saint Florian and Saint Augustine.
St. Florian's Priory possesses two organs, the larger one of which is known as the "Bruckner organ" (Brucknerorgel) and contains four manuals, 103 stops and 7,343 pipes. It was played by composer and organist Anton Bruckner, previously a choirboy at the monastery, when he was the organist, between 1848 and 1855. He is buried beneath the organ inside the church.
Twelve bells are distributed between the two west towers, with the Great Bell mounted separately in the northwest tower. It is one of the largest bells in Austria and rings every Thursday evening in remembrance of Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane; hence its nickname, the "Angstglocke" (Angst Bell ). During the 2003 renovation, the two striking bells of the trumpet tower were added. The main peal, which rings together, consists of the seven largest bells. These bells, dating from the 14th century, especially the Twelve, the Eleven, the Six, and the First Choir Bell, are testaments to the high art of bell casting. They originated from a St. Florian foundry and are dated 1318 and 1319.
Furthermore, there is an eight-bell choir peal. It serves as a secondary peal for daily use (calling the monks to choral prayer three times a day in the oratory ). The disposition follows a pure C major scale. Musically and technically, it is designed as a so-called cymbal peal: the wall thickness (rib) of the bells increases with increasing pitch, the range extending to the three-line octave (c3 ) . The bells bear, in ascending order, the invocation and the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer.
St. Florian is also known for the St. Florian Boys Choir (St. Florianer Sängerknaben), a boys' choir founded in 1071. This choir has been a traditional part of the monastic worship from its foundation. It still has particular responsibility for sacred music for the priory, but also now undertakes international concert tours, television appearances and making CDs.
Text from the Wikipedia article “St. Florian Monastery”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.