A Virtual Guided Tour of Vienna, Part 18: Schottenstift
Letter to Baron Bethell #27
Letters from Vienna #207
A virtual guided tour of Vienna, Part 18: Schottenstift
Letter to Baron Bethell #27
Dear James,
If the weather is poor, like today for instance, we can go to Café Diglas
which is just around the corner from the Mölkerbastei or, if the weather is nicer, we can visit its garden
or the neighbouring beer garden: Zattl.
Both are situated in the courtyard of the Schottenstift, which is one of the most important historical complexes of Vienna.
“Duke Heinrich II Jasomirgott made Vienna the residence of the Babenberg Territory. In order to give the new capital more importance, he summoned Irish monks from the Scottish monastery of St. James in Regensburg to Vienna in 1155. The Latin term “scoti” referred to all Gaels in the Middle Ages, but primarily to the inhabitants of the island of Ireland. The new foundation was primarily intended to be a place of prayer, but also a place where pilgrims and guests could find shelter, a place of refuge for asylum seekers (the name “Freyung” – the place of refuge for the persecuted – still reminds us of this today) and a center of cultural life.”
“In the years up to 1200, a mighty Romanesque church was built outside the then city limits, which was a lot larger than today’s; the eastern part of the Romanesque church extended about 25 meters beyond the eastern wall of today’s church. In 1200, the church and monastery were consecrated by Bishop Wolfger von Ellenbrechtskirchen of Passau. As early as 1276, however, a large part of this laboriously built complex fell victim to a fire. Earthquakes in 1348 and 1443 again left traces of destruction. A new monastery building was built in the middle of the 15th century.”
“The era of Irish monks ended in 1418, as in the course of the Melk monastery reform, due to the increasingly scarce number of young monks, it was suggested that locals should also join their ranks. However, the Irish preferred to return to their mother abbey in Regensburg; the name “Scots” has survived to this day.”
“The Scots Abbey was fundamentally redesigned in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today’s church building was completed in 1648, and in the following decades the monastery complex was also completely changed. Abbot Carl Fetzer (1705–1750) played a decisive role in these buildings. Today’s “Schottenhof” was redesigned in a classical style by the architect Josef Kornhäusel under Abbot Andreas Wenzel (1807-1831).”
“The intensive preoccupation with science and the close relationship with the University of Vienna, founded in 1365, led to an increase in the book inventory in the days of the Irish monks, but even more so in the years that followed. Although only fragments have been preserved in the monastery library from the early days of the monastery, the number of medieval manuscripts and printed books increased steadily in the centuries that followed. As part of the redesign of the monastery, a new library hall was built under Abbot Andreas Wenzel.”
“In 1807, at the imperial request, the Schottengymnasium was founded, which took up and continued the old school tradition of the house on the Freyung. The prestigious school has become a major field of work for the monks.”
“The Schottenstift survived the two world wars largely intact in terms of building, but they brought great damage to the monastery itself, be it the economic hardships after the First World War or the great loss of blood in the years 1939 to 1945. Numerous brothers died in the war or never returned, the gates of the grammar school remained closed from 1938 to 1945.”[1]
Best,
Michael
Studying as we did all the styles in architecture graduate school, Romanesque was then and remains my favorite.