Millstatt Abbey from the west, with the Central Eastern Alps in the background

Millstatt Abbey (Stift Millstatt) is a former monastery in Millstatt in Carinthia, Austria, now used by the Austrian civil service. The Central Eastern Alps are the core ranges of the Eastern Alps with the highest peaks located between the Northern Limestone Alps and the Southern Millstatt is a Market town in Carinthia, Austria. Within the Central Eastern Alps it is situated on a peninsula on the northern shore of Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich

For centuries the monastery was the spiritual and cultural centre of Upper Carinthia and with its possessions round the Millstätter See, in the valley of the Görtschitz, in Friuli and in Salzburg, was one of the largest in the province. Lake Millstatt (Millstätter See sometimes written "Millstättersee" is an alpine Lake in Carinthia, Austria. Friuli ( Friulian: is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg.

History

It is presumed to have been founded in about 1070, but had definitely been established before 1122 and was run as a Benedictine abbey. This article concerns Roman Catholic Order of Saint Benedict see also Benedictine Confederation and Benedictine. In 1469 the buildings and assets were taken over by the Order of St. George, an Austrian order founded to combat the invading Turks. After its collapse in 1598 the premises passed to the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order

Under Emperor Joseph II, the monastery was dissolved in 1773. Heir and co-regent Joseph was born in the midst of the early upheavals of the War of the Austrian Succession.

Buildings

The church is now the property of the parish, while all other buildings belong to the Austrian government and are used by the Austrian State Forestry Commission (Österreichische Bundesforste).

Graveyard entrance, about 1914

Sources

• Schroll, Anton, 2001: Dehio-Handbuch. Die Kunstdenkmäler Österreichs. Kärnten, pp. 536-548. Vienna. ISBN 3-7031-0712-X
• Weinzierl, Erika, 1951: Geschichte des Benediktinerklosters Millstatt in Kärnten (Archiv für vaterländische Geschichte und Topographie, vol. 33). Verlag des Geschichtsvereines für Kärnten: Klagenfurt. (no ISBN)

External links

• Millstatt.at: Description of the abbey church (German)
• Stiftsmuseum Millstatt (German)

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