Seckau, Diocese of

SECOVIA (SECKAU), DIOCESE of — Diocese and abbey in Styria (Austria).

I. THE DIOCESE

The diocese of S. owes its origin to Archbishop Eberard II of Salzburg, who, with the consent of Honorius III (22 July 1218) and the Emperor Frederick II (17 February 1219), established, with its see at the abbey of S., one of those suffragan bishoprics that are a unique characteristic Salzburg (v.). The diocese, of minimal extent, was established pro forma, since the bishop of S. was in fact simply the vicar general of the archbishop (1218-1786) for the entire vast Alpine region

of Upper and Lower Styria, so far distant from the metropolitan see; there he exercised a jurisdiction which, over time, practically became that of a true ordinary bishop. The first official residence was Seggau Castle, in Lower Styria, a magnificent medieval complex; then, as early as the 13th century, a palace in the capital of Styria, Graz. The diocese too expanded somewhat until the time of Joseph II, who, following the ecclesiastical reorganization of the Austrian territories, suppressed, with subsequent papal approval, the Salzburg suffragan bishoprics in their original form, replacing them with autonomous dioceses: for Styria he established the see of S., with its residence in Graz, for all of southern Styria, and the see of Leoben, Göss (v.), for northern Styria. In 1859, however, in another reorganization, the Slovene-speaking part of Styria was established as a diocese of its own (Lavant, with its see at Maribor), the diocese of Leoben was suppressed, and all German-speaking Styria was united into the single diocese of S., still with its residence in the capital, Graz. In 1934, with the Austrian Concordat, the last prerogatives of the archbishop of Salzburg ceased; he remains metropolitan according to common law.

Among the bishops of S. are remembered Martino Brenner (1585-1615), called the “hammer of the Protestants,” because he was able, with energy and perseverance, to bring to completion the difficult work of the Catholic Reform throughout Styria. In the preceding century, a similar task was undertaken by Bishop Romano Zängerle (1824-48), a disciple of St. Clement M. Hofbauer, who, through arduous struggles and amid immense difficulties, had to overcome the deplorable religious and political situation created by Josephinism. During the period of the Counter-Reformation, the University of Graz, founded expressly by Charles II (1585) and recognized by Sixtus V in 1586, exercised great influence. Charles entrusted it to the Society of Jesus, which retained it until its suppression (1773). During the 19th century, for many years, the Benedictines of Admont supplied the University’s professors.

The church, a Romanesque basilica of Austro-Bavarian type, but with elements of the Saxon school, is one of the finest surviving examples, almost intact, in the eastern Alpine region. The first dedication dates from 1162. The reconstructions following fires, the transformation of the vaults (Gothic), and a thorough modern restoration have not altered the building’s overall severe and imposing appearance. Many Gothic and Renaissance funerary slabs have been preserved, as has the celebrated altar of Provost Dirnberger,

from 1507, made of gilded and painted wood, with a strange representation of the Most Holy Trinity (three human persons with a single trunk) crowning the Madonna. Particularly noteworthy is the magnificent mausoleum of Charles II of Styria (d. 1590), a work of the late Renaissance by Italian masters (Carlone, Verga, Ghisi, and others), of extraordinary unity and richness: it includes the sarcophagus with Charles and his wife, figures of angels and various reliefs, stucco decorations, frescoes, marble and bronze balustrades, and a magnificent altar; the entire complex is set into the left apse of the Basilica. The convent was rebuilt during the 16th and 17th centuries, with a spacious courtyard featuring Tuscan arcades and an inner cloister, still partly Romanesque and Gothic.

In Graz, the Cathedral of St. Giles (a cathedral since 1786) is noteworthy. It was formerly the city’s parish church, rebuilt by Emperor Frederick III (1438–60), declared a court church, and entrusted from 1577 to the care of the Society of Jesus; it is a late Gothic construction, with very spacious naves and remains of frescoes; the altars and sacred furnishings are Baroque in style. Other Gothic or Baroque churches in Graz, belonging to various ancient Orders (Dominicans, Franciscans, Teutonic Order), are of considerable artistic interest. Worth noting are the Landhaus, seat of the government and Diet, the work of D. Allio, with the finest Renaissance courtyard outside Italy; the Zeughaus, containing the most complete armoury, the work of A. Solari (1643–1645); the Mausoleum of Ferdinand II (1614–39); and the Joanneum, one of the earliest folkloristic museums founded (1811).

In the diocese of S. are located the greatest Austrian sanctuary, Mariazell (v.), and the abbey of St. SANKT LAMBRECHT (v.), the former Cistercian abbey of Neuburg, founded in 1327, as well as the better-known abbey of Admont.

The latter Benedictine abbey, in the Enns Valley, in a highly picturesque setting, was founded in 1072 with the possessions of S. EMMAUS (v.), by Gebhard, Archbishop of Salzburg. The church was first dedicated in 1074. The monks came from St. Peter’s Abbey in Salzburg. The abbey soon joined the reform of Hirsau and experienced a golden age in the 13th and 14th centuries, especially under the abbots Godefrey of Vemmingen (from 1138), Henry V (1275–97), and Engelbert (v.). From about 1115 there was also a convent of Benedictine nuns, with a renowned school, which was dissolved in 1570. After a period of stagnation during the 16th century, a second flourishing began in the Baroque period, with extensive rebuilding. In 1664 a gymnasium was opened, supplemented in 1710 by two sections in philosophy and theology. Joseph II transferred the gymnasium to the city of Leoben, where the monks held the chairs until the final years of the last century. A terrible fire in 1865 destroyed the church, monastery, and town, with the exception of the magnificent and celebrated library. The church was rebuilt in modern Gothic forms, and the monastery in simple forms of modern Baroque. The library, containing approximately 80,000 volumes, many manuscripts and incunabula, together with an adjoining museum, is housed in a wing built by G. Hayberger, 70 m long, with frescoes by B. Altomonte and sculptures by J. Th. Stammel, and Rococo shelving in white and gold. The Nazi suppression (1939–45) inflicted considerable losses on the library and convent. The abbey has charge of 29 incorporated parishes, encompassing the entire immense territory in which it exercised intense cultural activity of every kind for many centuries. Worth noting in the treasury, which includes the remains saved from the fire, are vestments, sculptures, and minor arts from the Romanesque period through the Baroque. Nearby, on a hill, stands the sanctuary of Frauenberg, a jewel of Baroque architecture. In many churches belonging to Admont Abbey, one may admire the wood sculptures of J. Th. Stammel, the abbey’s resident artist (1699–1765). — Vedi tav. XIV.