Noble women's monastery Innsbruck

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Noble women's monastery, facade to the moat

The Aristocratic Women's Foundation Innsbruck is a secular women's foundation in Innsbruck .

history

Empress Maria Theresia as the founder of the noble women's monastery Innsbruck (with medal and foundation deed). Above right is the medallion of her deceased husband.
Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria as abbess of the Innsbruck women's monastery, with staff, costume and medal

Emperor Franz I. Stephan died unexpectedly of a stroke in the Innsbruck Hofburg on August 18, 1765 when the ruling family was staying in Innsbruck on the occasion of the wedding of Archduke Leopold to Maria Ludovica of Spain . His wife Maria Theresa was very shaken by this and mourned him deeply. In the same year she founded the secular aristocratic women's monastery at the place where her husband died, “For Eternal Remembrance”.

The canonesses had to be able to prove 16 noble-born ancestors and a noble descent up to the fourth generation. In addition, a minimum age of 24 years, the Catholic religion and a virtuous lifestyle were required. Their number was limited to 12 women. The institute was opened on December 8, 1765. It was located in a building adjoining the Hofburg to the south, which was converted and expanded for this purpose. The death room of Emperor Franz Stephans, converted into a chapel, served as a common prayer room. The main task of the canonies was prayer for the deceased. Every morning they had to take part in two masses for him and in the evening, at the hour of the emperor's death, they had to pray the office of the dead .

The canonies wore black dresses, over them a black cloak with white ermine trimmings and a white veil, as well as the oval medal with a cross on a white / blue ribbon bow.

They could quit the monastery at any time, marry or join a religious order. They were free to take part in cultural events as well as walks and garden parties, but attendance at masked balls and comedies was prohibited. Countess Seraphine Franziska zu Leiningen-Westerburg-Neuleiningen (1810–1874), who had been a member of the community since 1838, resigned in 1860 and moved to the Westerburg in order to be able to take over her inherited status in the Duchy of Nassau .

The only abbess of the monastery was Archduchess Maria Elisabeth , a daughter of Maria Theresa. Her face and body were disfigured by smallpox and she remained single. Because of her goiter she was called "Kropferte Liesl" . As an abbess, she is said to have been extremely friendly and affable and took part in the city's social life. In 1805 she fled from the advancing French troops to Vienna and never returned.

At the time of the Bavarian occupation of Tyrol (1805–1814), the women's monastery was suspended, but then revived. It still exists today, the Tyrolean governor is now responsible for appointing the canons. Head is always a dean .

building

The building of the women's monastery goes back to the “Harnaschhaus”, first mentioned in 1465, which was  first referred to as “outer castle” in Ferdinand II's estate inventory and until 1765 formed the southern end of the Hofburg area. It was increased in the 16th century and expanded by including other houses. From 1769 to 1773 it was again expanded and rebuilt to accommodate the aristocratic women's monastery. The rooms on the ground floor were redesigned in 1929–1930 according to plans by Clemens Holzmeister , and the south wing was rebuilt in 1948 after being damaged by bombs.

The four-storey complex consists of a longitudinal tract with a front facing the moat and a rear facing Stiftgasse and a transverse tract that surrounds an inner courtyard and connects to the Hofburg and the Hofkirche with access to the Silver Chapel. The facades to the moat are designed as representative baroque facades based on the Hofburg, but without pilasters and parapets . They have two portals flanked by pillars and wicker balconies with wrought iron tendril grids between vases. There is a portal on the connecting wing, which is crowned by a heraldic cartouche with the binding shield .

The late Gothic wall has largely been preserved in the north wing. The inner courtyard was decorated in 1579 by Melchior Ritterl and Hans Maisfelder with architectural painting and window frames in the style of the late Renaissance . On the ground floor, which was converted into the Stiftskeller restaurant in 1930, there are remains of an architectural painting of the Harnaschhaus from 1505 , attributed to Peter Sauer, a journeyman from Jörg Kölderer's workshop .

The building is a listed building .

literature

  • Ellinor Langer: The history of the aristocratic women's monastery in Innsbruck , Wagner University Press, Innsbruck, 1950
  • Thomas Huber-Fresisis, Nina Knieling: The private library of Emperor Franz I of Austria 1784–1835: Library and cultural history of a princely collection between the Enlightenment and Vormärz , Böhlau Verlag, Vienna, 2015, p. 284, ISBN 3205796721 ; Digital view
  • Franz Caramelle, Richard Frischauf: The monasteries and monasteries of Tyrol . Tyrolia / Athesia, Innsbruck / Bozen 1985, ISBN 3-7022-1549-2 , p. 272-274 .
  • Wiesauer: residential building, noble women's monastery. In: Tyrolean art register . Retrieved March 12, 2020 .
  • Christoph Hölz, Klaus Tragbar, Veronika Weiss (Hrsg.): Architectural guide Innsbruck . Haymon, Innsbruck 2017, ISBN 978-3-7099-7204-5 , pp. 36 .

Web links

Commons : Adeliges Damenstift, Innsbruck  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ellinor Langer: The history of the noble women's foundation in Innsbruck , Wagner University Press, Innsbruck, 1950, p. 133; Detail scan
  2. ^ Biographical website on Abbess Maria Elisabeth of Austria

Coordinates: 47 ° 16 ′ 5.4 "  N , 11 ° 23 ′ 41.2"  E