LILIENFELD. – Cistercian abbey, in the lower district, Diocese of St. Pölten; it has charge of 17 incorporated parishes.
LEOPOLD VI, Duke of Austria, founded the abbey in 1202, but the monks from Heiligenkreuz of the Morimond line only arrived in 1206. The church, a grand transitional-style construction (with three naves, transept, five-apsed choir) was dedicated in 1230 and has remained almost intact, as has the cloister (13th century). Above the high altar is the Assumption, a canvas by D. Gran (1746); other paintings by M. Altomonte. The monastery was rebuilt during the 17th–18th centuries and has seven courtyards. The library contains a Biblia pauperum from the 14th century. Suppression under Joseph II lasted barely a year (1789–90), while that under the Nazis lasted nearly five (1940–45).