VORAU. - Monastery of Canons Regular of St. Augustine of the Austrian Congregation, diocese of Seckau (Graz) in eastern Styria.

Situated among the forests of the Wechsel, it fulfilled great tasks of civilizing work from its very beginnings. Founded by Margrave Ottokar III of Styria in fulfillment of a vow, after he had obtained a son and heir, in 1163, it was confirmed by Conrad II, Archbishop of Salzburg, in 1168 and by Alexander III in 1170. At first the canons made use of the parish church, but after the fire of 1237 they built the abbey church, consecrated in 1257 and completed around 1300. Between 1660 and 1662, however, the church was entirely rebuilt in Baroque form, and in 1700-1704 it was frescoed and decorated with stucco work (J. C. Hackhofer, M. Steinl); it is the finest example of Styrian Baroque. The monastic buildings were also rebuilt at that time, in part around 1625, and the prelature in 1692-94 and 1725-33. Notable are the Library, the refectory, and the imperial halls, all frescoed and with stucco work (Hackhofer, Steinl, J. C. Mayr). The great restorers were the provosts (abbots) M. Singer (1649-62) and above all F. Leisl (1691-1717). The Library has about 35,000 volumes, 220 incunabula, 416 manuscripts, among them some very precious ones. In recent times the canon Ottokar Kernstock (1848-1928) achieved great fame: parish priest of Festenburg, an esteemed poet. The monastery has 8 incorporated parishes and continues its traditions of sacred and secular culture.

Bibliography9 works

BIBL.: P. Buberl, Die illuminierten Handschr., in Steiermark, I, Graz 1911; E. Tomek, Gesch. der Diöz. Seckau, I, Graz 1917, p. 328 ff.; P. Frank, Das Chorherrenstift V. und sein Wirken in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, ibid. 1925; G. Dehio, Handb. der deutsch. Kunstdenkmäler, II, Österr., Vienna 1933; E. Tomek, Kirchengesch. Österr., I, Innsbruck 1935, pp. 186-88; Die bildende Kunst in Österr., edited by K. Ginhart, 5 vols., Baden 1936-39, passim; E. Schaffran, Kunstgesch. Österr., Vienna 1948; P. Fank, s. v. in LThK, X, coll. 692-93; Cottineau, II, p. 3420.

Giuseppe Löw

@incollection{ec12_vorau, author = {Lów, Giuseppe}, title = {Vorau}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XII}, pages = {1625}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1954}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/vorau} }

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