Engelszell Abbey () was the last

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

monastery in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It is located near Engelhartszell an der Donau in the ''

Innviertel The Innviertel (literally German language, German for "Inn Quarter"; officially called the ; ) is a traditional Austrian region southeast of the Inn (river), Inn river. It forms the western part of the States of Austria, state of Upper Austria a ...

'' in

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

. In May 2023, the community of Engelszell was suppressed (ordered to be closed) by the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance. With only four monks left, it was determined that it was no longer able to maintain a Trappist life within the monastery.

History

Cistercians

The abbey was founded in 1293 by Bernhard of Prambach,

Bishop of Passau The Diocese of Passau (; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery. It was settled in 1295 by monks from Wilhering Abbey, its mother house, and was of the filiation of

Morimond Abbey Morimond Abbey is a religious complex in Parnoy-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne department, in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France. It was the fourth of the four great daughter abbeys of Cîteaux Abbey, of primary importance in the spread of t ...

. It suffered a considerable decline, both spiritual and financial, in the period of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, and for a time passed into private ownership. From 1618 onwards the intervention and support of Wilhering Abbey gradually restored it. On

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1699, a disastrous fire plunged the abbey once again into financial difficulties and from 1720 its management was in the hands of administrators. In 1746, Leopold Reichl, the last and greatest of Engelszell's abbots of the Common Observance, was appointed, and soon rebuilt its finances. Between 1754 and 1764, Leopold rebuilt the present-day abbey church. In 1786, Engelszell was dissolved by

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

and the buildings were subsequently put to several secular uses, including as a factory and as a residence.

Trappists

In 1925, Engelszell was occupied and re-founded as a

monastery by refugee German monks expelled after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from Oelenberg Abbey in Alsace. These monks had found temporary shelter in

Banz Abbey Banz Abbey (), now known as Banz Castle (), is a former Benedictine monastery, since 1978 a part of the town of Bad Staffelstein north of Bamberg, Bavaria, southern Germany. History The abbey was founded in about 1070 by Countess Alberada o ...

but were looking for a permanent home. Initially established as a priory, in 1931 it was elevated to the rank of an abbey, and the former prior, Gregorius Eisvogel, appointed abbot, in which office he was dedicated by Johannes Maria Gföllner, Bishop of Linz, at a ceremony in Wilhering Abbey. On 2 December 1939, the abbey was confiscated by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

and the community, numbering 73, evicted. Four monks were sent to

Dachau Concentration Camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

, while others were imprisoned elsewhere or drafted into the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

. At the end of the war in 1945, only about a third of the previous community returned. They were augmented, however, by the refugee German Trappists expelled from Mariastern Abbey, Banja Luka,

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, under their abbot Bonaventura Diamant. Since 1995, the abbot has been Marianus Hauseder. As at 2012, the number of monks in the community was 7. The resident community of four monks announced that it is "no longer able to maintain a Trappist life within the monastery. The decision to dissolve was taken in consultation with the Trappist order." On 15 May 2023, the community of Engelszell was suppressed (ordered to be closed) by the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance.

Buildings

Engelszell Abbey church, built between 1754 and 1764, is an impressive church in the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style, with a tower 76 metres high. The interior contains notable works of art works by Bartolomeo Altomonte, Joseph Deutschmann and the stuccoist Johann Georg Üblhör. After structural damage in about 1957 the ceiling of the nave was repainted with a contemporary work by Fritz Fröhlich.

Gallery

File:Trappistenkloster Engelszell.jpg, Trappisten kloster Engelszell File:SeDSC00172.JPG, Abbey Church steeple File:SeDSC00155.JPG, Abbey Church high altar File:SeDSC00156.JPG, Abbey Church high altarpiece File:Stift Engelszell Orgel.jpg, Organ loft File:SeDSC00137.JPG, Saint Faustus reliquary File:SeDSC00175.JPG, Monastery chapel File:SeDSC00206.JPG, Library

Economy

The monastery lives mostly from its agricultural produce. It has become known both for its liqueurs and for its beer. It currently produces 3 beers on its modern 15HL brewhouse. Nivard, a Belgian Pale Ale; Benno, a dopplebock and Gregorius, a Tripelbock made with local honey. While it was once also known for its cheese, ''Engelszeller Trappistenkäse'', this is no longer produced. In May 2012, the International Trappist Association approved Engelszell to be the 9th producer of

Trappist beer Trappist beer is brewed by Trappist monks. Thirteen Trappist monasteries—six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, and one each in Austria, Italy, England, France, and Spain— produce beer, but the ''Authentic Trappist Product'' label is assigned ...

, and, at the time, only the second outside Belgium.

List of superiors

* Gregorius Eisvogel, 1925–31, prior; 1931–50, abbot * Basile Sartorio, 1950–51, interim superior * Bonaventura Diamant, 1951–52, superior ''ad nutum'' * Benno Stumpf, 1952–53, superior ''ad nutum''; 1953–66, abbot * Willibald Knoll, 1966–83, abbot * Klaus Jansen, 1982–83, apostolic administrator; 1983–89, abbot * Nivard Volkmer, 1989–91, superior ''ad nutum'' * Marianus Hauseder, 1991–95, superior ''ad nutum''; from 1995, abbot

References

External links

*
Orden-Online.de: Stift Engelszell
{{Coord, 48.499, N, 13.734, E, display=title, source:dewiki Cistercian monasteries in Austria Monasteries in Upper Austria Trappist monasteries Christian monasteries established in the 1290s Christian monasteries established in the 20th century 1293 establishments in Europe 1786 disestablishments in the Habsburg monarchy 1786 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1925 establishments in Austria Tourist attractions in Upper Austria 13th-century establishments in Austria Establishments in the Duchy of Austria 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Austria 20th-century architecture in Austria