Location: Carinthia Map
Constructed: 11th century
Open: May 2- July 10
Mon- Fri: 8am- 12pm
July 11- Sept 9
Mon- Tue: 8am- 12pm
Wed- Fri: 8am- 5pm
Sat- Sun: 11am- 5pm
Sept 14- Sept 30
Mon- Fri: 8am- 12pm
Arnoldstein Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery (OSB) in Arnoldstein in Carinthia.
Arnoldstein Castle
Arnoldstein Castle was first mentioned in a
document in 1085/90. It was named after its builder Arnold, who was
probably a Bamberg ministerial, but is not mentioned in any other
documents.
On the occasion of his coronation as emperor on
February 10, 1014, Henry II transferred possessions in the area of
today's market town of Arnoldstein - among others in Carinthia - to
the diocese of Bamberg, which was only founded in 1007. Under the Bishop
of Bamberg Adalbero (1053-1057), the Eppenstein vassals were bishops'
property. They did not return the property to Adalbero's successor and
fortified the transition to the Canal Valley by building a castle in
today's Arnoldstein. It was only after the turn of the century that
Bishop Otto von Bamberg succeeded in bringing the estate back into the
diocese's possession.
Benedictine monastery Arnoldstein
(1106–1783)
In order to protect the property from secular access from
then on, Bishop Otto von Bamberg founded a Benedictine monastery on
Arnoldstein in 1106. He had the castle razed and converted into convent
buildings. He gave the monastery 155 Huben as an economic basis. The
first recorded abbot was Ingram (1126). Until then Arnoldstein seems to
have been only a priory. In 1126 the cemetery of the monastery was
consecrated. The other few pieces of news about the convention describe
the problems with the bailiffs. Since the lords of Ras, among others,
abused their position of power as patrons, the Carinthian duke took over
the bailiwick in 1176.
Harvest failures, an infestation of
locusts and finally the earthquake of January 25, 1348, which caused a
massive landslide in the Dobratsch, brought the monastery into economic
difficulties. The possessions of the monastery, the church and the
village of St. Johann were buried by the rock fall. Despite the
restoration, which is documented by documents up to 1391, the population
declined, probably also under the influence of the Europe-wide plague
epidemic. In 1391 the Patriarch of Aquileia handed over the parish of
Hermagor to the monastery as compensation for the economic problems.
Despite further donations, endowments and privileges, the Convention was
not able to settle its debts. In the 15th century, the Arnoldstein monks
had difficulties looking after the parish of Hermagor, and even a closed
settlement could not remedy this. In the course of this dispute, the
first documented Carinthian witch trial took place in the district court
of Grünburg in 1465. According to a long-standing tradition, the
monastery was pillaged by Turkish Akıncı before the Battle of Villach,
but there is no historical evidence of this. Then in 1495 the abbot
Christoph Jakob Fugger and his brothers allowed the construction of a
Saigerhütte and a castle, from which the Fuggerau developed. Abbot
Friedrich was still complaining in 1507 about the dilapidated condition
and poverty of the monastery. In the course of the Reformation in the
16th century the monastery was on the verge of ruin. As a result of the
royal Turkish taxes, neglect of pastoral duties and quarrels with nobles
and subjects, the reputation of the monastery was weakened. Lutheran
preachers, contrary to the mandates of the Bamberg bishops, occupied the
monastery and Thörl and sat in the neighboring castles. So in 1570 Abbot
Petrus, despite all the trepidation, made a commitment of 2,500 guilders
in installments in order to (re)acquire the Fuggerau with all reasons
and rights, since a transfer to the neighboring (Protestant?) nobility
was prevented after the decline in mining wanted to.
In 1580,
Arnoldstein Abbey did not have an abbot for a short time. According to a
visitation report by the archpriest in 1594, the Franconian Johannes
Pünlein, appointed in that year, led a thoroughly secular life. He said
mass once a year, had only one monk by his side, all his staff were
Protestant, the church had no candles or vestments, and the altar was
unadorned. His successor, also a Franconian, Abbot Emerich Molitor could
not fulfill the hopes of the diocese of Bamberg for re-catholicization.
The monastery suffered damage of around 60,000 guilders as a result of
embezzlement. In a bull of Archduke Ferdinand II dated April 12, 1600,
the monastery was to be attached to a Jesuit college set up in St. Veit.
The bishop of Bamberg was finally able to avert this by pledging
contributions to the planned Jesuit college. After the free election of
Abbot Daniel in 1630, the monastery flourished until the great fire in
October 1642. In the short upswings of the monastery that followed,
investments were made in the building and the furnishings. With the
dissolution of the Patriarchate of Aquileia and the sale of Bamberg's
goods to the Austrian state in 1759, the monastery was now directly
subordinate to the sovereign.
From the dissolution of the monastery to today
In 1782, Emperor
Joseph II decided to abolish all Austrian monasteries that did not
contribute to nursing or the education of young people. Originally he
wanted to abolish the monastery of St. Paul im Lavanttal, but the court
authorities convinced him that the abolition of the Arnoldstein
monastery would cause less damage. On November 24, 1783, the monastery
was abolished by court decree. Abbot Otto von Größing and the 18 priests
were free to move to another monastery or join the secular clergy. The
assets of the foundation and the realities were transferred to the state
administration. The monastery library came to what is now the University
Library of Klagenfurt (until 1971 the Klagenfurt Study Library). A part
of the monastery archives went to the Historical Society for Carinthia
and is now in the Carinthian State Archives in Klagenfurt. The rooms of
the monastery were now used by the state property administration, some
tenants and, until 1854, the elementary school with teacher apartments.
With the administrative reforms of 1848, the former monastery served the
k. k. Forest administration, the district court with tax and land
registry office, the notary's office and the office of the municipality
of Arnoldstein as accommodation. A fire on August 16, 1883 destroyed the
building's roofs and wooden ceilings. However, due to unwillingness to
raise funds for the restoration, the monastery has been in ruins since
then.
In the course of the acquisition of the monastery grounds
by the municipality on May 14, 1980, the Revitalization Association for
the Arnoldstein Monastery Ruins was founded.
Building description
The monastery church of St. George was first mentioned in 1316. The
choir, some buttresses and the tower with the west portal are still
recognizable.
The monastery buildings, built in the Gothic style
and in the 17th century, were arranged in an oval around the church. The
inventory of finds so far dates mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries.
The baroque gates are inscribed with the years 1677 and 1718.