Seckau Abbey (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: Abtei Unserer Lieben Frau ) is a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery and Co-Cathedral in

Seckau Seckau () is a Marktgemeinde in the state of Styria, Austria. It is situated near Knittelfeld. It is known for the Benedictine Seckau Abbey, once the seat of the bishopric Graz-Seckau. See also * Diocese of Graz-Seckau References Diocese of Se ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

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 ...

History

Middle Ages

Seckau Abbey was endowed in 1140 by Augustinian canons. An already existing community in Sankt Marein bei Knittelfeld was moved to Seckau in 1142. This establishment was dissolved in 1782. At the request of Archbishop Konrad I of Salzburg,

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

instituted the founding of the congregation and the transfer to Seckau on 12 March 1143. The abbey church, a Romanesque basilica, was built from 1143 to 1164, and was consecrated on 16 September 1164. According to an old custom, the canons founded a double monastery. The women's chorus likely came to the abbey no later than 1150 from Salzburg, mentioned in a deed of the Noble Burchard of Mureck in 1150.

Seckau Abbey

In 1883 the monastery was resettled by

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

from

Beuron Archabbey Beuron Archabbey (in German Erzabtei Beuron, otherwise Erzabtei St. Martin; in Latin ''Archiabbatia Sancti Martini Beuronensis''; Swabian: ''Erzabtei Beira'') is a major house of the Benedictine Order located at Beuron in the upper Danube valley ...

, who had had to leave

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

because of the ''

Kulturkampf In the history of Germany, the ''Kulturkampf'' (Cultural Struggle) was the seven-year political conflict (1871–1878) between the Catholic Church in Germany led by Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia led by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Th ...

''. In 1940 the monks were evicted 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 buildings were confiscated. In 1945 the monks were able to return. The abbey maintains a secondary school (''"Gymnasium"'') and carries out the duties of the pastoral care belonging to a parish. It is part of the

Beuronese Congregation The Beuronese Congregation, also known as Beuron Congregation, is a union of mostly Germany, German or German language, German-speaking monasteries of both monks and nuns within the Benedictine Confederation. The congregation is under the patrona ...

within the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict () is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own aut ...

Abbey church

The abbey church, a Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, was built between 1143 and 1164. For centuries it was the place of burial of the

Inner Austria Inner Austria (; ; ) was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the Imperial duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola and the lands of the Austrian Li ...

n line of the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

.Seckau, Steiermark / Stiftsbasilika
In 1930 it was declared a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

Gallery

File:Benediktinerstift Seckau.JPG, Seckau Abbey File:Benediktinerabtei Seckau, Äußerer Klosterhof.jpg, Seckau Abbey courtyard File:Abtei Seckau - Innerer Klosterhof 1.JPG, Seckau Abbey inner courtyard File:Benediktinerabtei Seckau, Türme der Basilika.JPG, Basilica spires File:Basilika Seckau - Innenraum 2.jpg, Basilica Seckau - interior File:Basilika Seckau - Romanische Kreuzigungsgruppe.jpg, Romanesque Crucifixion scene File:Basilika Seckau, Habsburger Mausoleum, Blick zum Altar.jpg, Habsburg mausoleum File:Basilika Seckau, Habsburger Mausoleum, Kenotaph 1.jpg, Habsburg Mausoleum, cenotaph File:Basilika Seckau, Habsburger Mausoleum, Wappen Karls II. auf Kenotaph.jpg, Habsburg mausoleum (detail)

In numismatics

Seckau Abbey was selected in 2008 as a main motif for a high value Austrian

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

collectors' coin: the Seckau Abbey commemorative coin. The obverse shows a wide view of Seckau Abbey looking west. Located in the center is the Romanesque basilica with its two towers surrounded by the Baroque monastic buildings. The reverse shows a view from the main entrance of the church to the high altar, depicting the mediaeval crucifixion group hanging on four massive chains.

References

External links

Abtei Seckau official website

Seckau Abbey
(

JPEG JPEG ( , short for Joint Photographic Experts Group and sometimes retroactively referred to as JPEG 1) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degr ...

)
Stift Seckau
on TouristicViews.com {{Authority control States and territories established in 1218 1142 establishments in Europe 1782 disestablishments in Europe Religious organizations established in 1883 Augustinian monasteries in Austria Benedictine monasteries in Austria Basilica churches in Austria Christian monasteries established in the 1140s Monasteries in Styria Tourist attractions in Styria Roman Catholic cathedrals in Austria