KLOSTERNEUBURG. — Near Vienna (Austria), an abbey of the Augustinian Canons Regular of the Austrian Congregation, founded around 1106 by Margrave St. Leopold (canonized in 1485) of Babenberg and his wife Agnes, daughter of Emperor Henry IV, on the site of a Roman castle (Canabiaca) and near the "new castle" of the Babenbergs (hence the name). Until 1133 it was a collegiate church of secular canons, presided over as provost by Leopold’s son, Otto, who later became a Cistercian monk and Bishop of Freising, renowned for his philosophy of history (*Chronicon* and *Gesta Friderici*). In that year, it was transformed into an Augustinian abbey under the rule of the canons regular.
Klosterneuburg — Interior of the small church of St. Gertrude (12th century).
The abbey is rich in artistic and historical treasures. The library contains 1,245 manuscripts, 900 incunabula, and over 150,000 volumes, arranged according to modern standards. In 1936, on the occasion of the eighth centenary of its foundation, Pius XI elevated the abbey church to the status of a minor basilica. In more recent times, the abbey was suppressed by the National Socialist government (1941–45), but it was spared from war damage and looting. Currently, it comprises 67 priests and 8 professed clerics, 7 novices, and 27 parishes, nearly all in Vienna, with approximately 80,000 souls.
**Artworks.** — Klosternuburg is exceptionally rich in artworks. Notable among them is the abbey church, a three-aisled Romanesque basilica built between 1114 and 1136, modeled on Rhenish examples; its Baroque decoration dates to the 17th and 18th centuries (remarkable are the choir and high altar, designed by Matthias Steindl). Of high artistic value is the Chapel of St. Leopold (formerly the chapter hall), adorned with precious stained-glass windows from the 14th and 15th centuries, a seven-branched Romanesque bronze candelabrum, and the famous *Verdun Altar*, commissioned in 1181 by Provost Wernher from Nicholas of Verdun as a revetment for the rood screen. This masterpiece features 51 enamel plaques on a gold background, depicting the entire history of Redemption in a typological manner. In 1329, it was transformed into a winged altarpiece, with the rear panel adorned by four tempera paintings in a Giottesque style. This is the most significant work of Romanesque and Gothic art north of the Alps.
Other notable works in Klosterneuburg include the cloister (13th–14th centuries), the *Madonna of K.*, a 14th-century stone sculpture, and the so-called *Albrecht Altar*, a fine altarpiece created around 1440 by James of Kaschau. The imperial residence, which forms a single complex with the abbey and was commissioned by Emperor Charles VI, was built between 1730 and 1740 according to the plans of Donato d'Allio (though only a third of the originally grandiose design was completed). It features frescoes by Daniel Gran in the "Hall of Marbles" and stucco decorations in the "Imperial Rooms." The Picture Gallery houses notable works by the "Danube School" (Donauschule), bronze and silver sculptures, while the treasury contains the archducal cope of 1616 and exquisite works in Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque styles.
**Liturgical Apostolate.** — In recent times, Klosterneuburg has become renowned for its liturgical apostolate among the people (*volksliturgisches Apostolat*). To this end, Fr. Pius Parsch founded in 1926 the monthly journal *Bibel und Liturgie*, later joined by the weekly *Leke mit der Kirche*, aimed at the general populace. In 1923, he published the first liturgical calendar (*Liturgiekalender*), which, under the title *Das Jahr des Heiles*, guided readers through the liturgical year and went through 13 editions, being translated into Italian (*L'anno liturgico*), French, Hungarian, Portuguese, Dutch, and Japanese. The abbey’s establishment of a large modern printing house (*St. Augustinus-Druckerei*), later sold after the suppression of 1941 by the National Socialists and reconstituted in 1950, enabled the widespread dissemination of liturgical publications: liturgical texts, pamphlets, posters, and propaganda leaflets. — See pl. XLV.