Description of the attraction
The Abbey of St. Lambrecht is a Benedictine monastery in Styria. The monastery is located at an altitude of 1072 meters above sea level. Many tourists visit the monastery of St. Lambrecht every year.
The monastery was founded in 1076 by Count Markward of Eppinstein. Soon after its founding, a collection of manuscripts appeared in the monastery. It consisted of theological and liturgical books, as well as the works of some ancient writers. The development of the library took place thanks to the abbot John Friedberg (1341-1359), who was trained in Bologna, and the increase in the stock of the library also occurred with his own writings.
In 1262, a fire broke out in the church, resulting in partial destruction. Restoration work was carried out until 1327, new walls were erected, relying on the old ones that survived. The consecration of the new building of the temple took place in 1421 under the abbot Henri Moiker (1419-1455).
On January 4, 1786, due to the church reform of Emperor Joseph, the entire library was moved to the University of Graz. However, already under Emperor Franz II in 1802, the entire collection was returned to the monastery of St. Lambrecht, and historically valuable manuscripts remained in Graz.
In May 1938, the monastery was confiscated by the Nazis under the leadership of SS Lieutenant Colonel Hubert Erhart. More than 2,100 books were taken back to Graz, and the rest of the library survived the war in the monastery. After the return of all the monastery property in 1946, the total number of books was about 30 thousand.
In 1946, the monks returned to the abbey. Currently, the monastery has about 4,000 hectares of agricultural land and forest land.
The monastery houses a museum with a collection of antique furniture, sculptures and stained-glass windows of the 15-16th century. Not far from the monastery there is an ancient cemetery with a 12th century Romanesque chapel.
