Josef Elter

Josef Elter (born October 8, 1926 in Kljajićevo , Kingdom of Yugoslavia , † January 28, 1997 in Zwettl ) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and at the same time internationally known sculptor and graphic artist .

Resurrection, 1978

The ship that calls itself parish ..., 1991

Getaway car

Life

Josef Elter was born in Kljajićevo ( German  Kernei ), a place in the Batschka that Maria Theresa had settled with Swabians in 1765 and that was still inhabited by around 6,300 Danube Swabians in 1944 . In 1939 Josef Elter entered the Jesuit grammar school in Travnik , where Serbo-Croatian was the language of instruction. For three years he attended high school in Subotica .

In 1944 he was drafted into the German armed forces . He was taken prisoner by the Soviets, from which he was released in 1946. Elter graduated from the Benedictine grammar school in Seitenstetten a second time , choosing art as a major. He then studied philosophy and theology in Sankt Pölten .

Elter celebrated his primacy in 1954 in Neuhofen an der Ybbs , followed by a secondary primacy in Kernei. He worked as a chaplain in Gastern and Dobersberg (northern Waldviertel), on September 1, 1957, he became provisional, and on June 16, 1958, pastor in Bad Traunstein , also in the Lower Austrian Waldviertel .

When he took office, he realized that the parish church of Bad Traunstein was much too small and decided to build a larger one. With a capital of 310,133.97 schillings (adjusted for inflation today, the equivalent of 150,943 euros) and a lot of trust in God, he dared to start construction. He succeeded in motivating the population to actively help build a large and modern church. The old church was not torn away, but converted into a side chapel. While architect Dr. techn. Ladislaus Hruska (Vienna) was responsible for the shell construction, Josef Elter took on the artistic design of the church interior. Granite and wood, the essential elements of the Waldviertel , should form the building material for the church. On October 7, 1962, Bishop Franz Žak consecrated the new church. This now attracts many art lovers and is known as the "Cathedral of the Waldviertel".

In 1968, the parent dean of the large Ottenschlag deanery , which includes 15 parishes and numerous schools. Numerous study trips led him not only in most Western European countries, but also to Israel , Tunisia , in Lebanon and in the Ukraine as well as Russia .

Based on the heraldic documents of the previous owners of the Traunstein village handed over to him by Helmut Hörner , Elter designed the market coat of arms, which was awarded to the market on October 19, 1975.

A matter close to the heart of the artist pastor was the establishment of the St. Georg Education Center in Traunstein, the construction of which the local council decided on December 12, 1980 under Mayor Rudolf Bauer and which was opened on October 28, 1984. Its pedagogical director became dean Parent.

On September 1, 1996, Elter retired. On January 28, 1997 he died in Zwettl . He was buried in the priestly grave of the Traunsteiner Friedhof, whose tombstone he created for himself and his predecessor Vinzenz Rohrbeck.

plant

As a child, Elter had artistic inclinations. His Danube Swabian origins were evident in his artistic work. You can always find South Slavic elements in his work. On the other hand, he was fascinated by the materials wood and granite, the basic elements of the Waldviertel. Elter's mastery of the material granite prompted the well-known sculptor Fritz Wotruba to travel to Bad Traunstein because he wanted Elter to make his modern church "Zur Heiligen Dreifaltigkeit" in Vienna-Mauer (known as " Wotrubakirche ") in this material. The details had already been clarified, but the execution failed due to the client's approval.

In addition to his pastoral work, which he by no means neglected, Elter created numerous works in wood, stone and bronze. All of his works are characterized by a deep symbolism . In the church there is a two-meter high bronze relief with the motto “ A ship that calls itself parish sails through the sea of ​​time. The goal that shows him the direction is called God's eternity ... "

One of the most impressive works of Elter is the crucifix "Resurrection", which shows Christ not hanging on the cross, but floating up to heaven. It consists of a tree grown in this form, which Elter artistically transformed into the body of Christ. This crucifix is ​​also available as a bronze cast.

Elter used every free minute in his studio in Bad Traunstein to work on the realization of his ideas according to his motto “Rohling die - Form wird!”, Whereby it was often about gigantic, monumental dimensions, such as that from a four meter high natural one A war memorial carved out of a boulder in Bad Traunstein and a 4.3 meter high grain ear, the "landmark of the Marchfeld ".

In addition to his work as a sculptor, Elter also made woodcuts . He was friends with the wood cutter Franz Traunfellner, who lived in Gerersdorf .

Works owned by

• Republic of Austria
• Federal Republic of Germany
• Australia
• Canada
• United States
• Lower Austrian State Museum
• as well as private collections at home and abroad

Elter's works were not only set up in numerous places in Austria, but also abroad, e.g. B. in Speyer and in Karlsruhe . His catalog of works indicates 206 works, some of which are still in Bad Traunstein. For them, the “Josef Elter Sculpture Center” including the sculpture courtyard was opened on October 4, 1992. Elter donated the works that remained in Bad Traunstein to the Josef Elter Sculpture Center (the Bad Traunstein market).

Exhibitions

• Zwettl 1975
• Vienna 1976
• Speyer-Heilsbach 1977
• Salzburg 1978
• Darmstadt 1978
• Künstlerhaus Vienna 1978
• Minorite Church Krems 1980
• Wiener Neustadt 1980
• Zwettl 1982
• Vienna 1982
• From 1982 Katzenberger Quatember (opened by the Federal President)
• Graz 1982
• St. Hyppolit Education Center, St. Pölten 1983
• Vienna City Hall 1983 (for the papal search)
• Dominican Church Krems 1983
• Salzburg 1983
• Stuttgart 1983
• Innsbruck 1985
• Neusiedl am See 1986
• Ebersdorf 1987
• Schlierbach Abbey 1987
• Deggendorf (Bavaria) 1987
• Neusiedl am See 1989
• Künstlerhaus Graz 1990
• Mattersburg 1991
• Neusiedl am See 1991
• Palais Vienna 1993
• Neusiedl am See 1994

Honors

• 1994 title of professor
• Appointment as monsignor
• Gold medal for services to the federal state of Lower Austria
• Danube Swabian Culture Prize of the State of Baden-Württemberg
• Prinz Eugen Medal for services to the Danube Swabians
• Honorary ribbon bearer of the Catholic academic association Suevia in Graz
• Decoration of honor of the Lower Austrian Comradeship Association
• Honorary citizen of the Traunstein market

literature

• Georg Wildmann and Erika Wildmann: Josef Elter. Contributions to Danube Swabian folk and local research. Prinz-Eugen-Verein and Kulturverein St. Georgshaus A 2632 Traunstein, Lower Austria. 2007
• J. Elter, stone and wood sculptor. Printed on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the town elevation of Neusiedl am See, 1985.
• J. Elter, Burgenland cultural centers, printing: Rötzer-Druck, Eisenstadt. OJ
• Wilhelm Kronfuss: Parent who is in love with stones and trees. In: J. Elter, stone and wood sculptor. For the exhibition in the Dominican monastery in Krems, 1983.
• Wilhelm Kronfuss: The sculptor Josef Elter. In Neuland, Salzburg, Volume 19, Episode 2, February 21, 1975.
• Statues of consternation - a visit to the pastor and sculptor Josef Elter. In: DIE FURCHE, Vienna. No. 34, August 26, 1981.
• Church leader Traunstein. OJ
• Front page of church colorful. St. Pöltner Kirchenzeitung, 34th year, episode 15, April 8, 1979.
• From the real and the real. Art - Christians - Church Today. In: Church colorful. St. Pöltner church newspaper. 36th vol., 13th episode, March 29, 1981. p. 11, p. 14.
• The sculptor Josef Elter. In: natural stone . Official newsletter of the Federal Association of German Stonemasons, Stone and Wood Carving Crafts. 35th year, Ulm, February 1980. Page 128 ff.
• The dean who is in love with stones and trees. In: Together. World and spiritual profession. 52nd vol., No. 9, Vienna, 1980. Pages 10-11.
• Lower Austrian cultural reports. Monthly for culture and science, Vienna, July / August 1979
• Monsignor Prof. Josef Elter - who asks "Saturday" and celebrities answer. In: Saturday No. 5, February 3, 1996.
• Peter Rack, Georg Wildmann, Brigitte Gärtner Josef Elter, stone and wood sculptor - works. Sandler-Verlag, Marbach an der Donau. OJ
• Helmut Hörner: 800 years of Traunstein. Faber-Verlag, Krems 1974. P. 92 ff.
• Helmut Hörner: 800 years of Traunstein. CD-ROM, Vienna, 2003.
• Market town of Traunstein - yesterday - today. Festschrift for the opening of the parish hall and presentation of the market emblem on October 19, 1975

Web links

Commons : Josef Elter  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Josef Elter on the website of the community of Traunstein
• Exhibition center Josef Elter
• Literature by and about Josef Elter in the catalog of the German National Library