Karl Strobl

Memorial plaque for Karl Strobl at the house Ebendorferstrasse 8 in Vienna

Karl Strobl (born January 20, 1908 in Wilhelmsdorf near Poysdorf , † August 21, 1984 in Vienna ) was an Austrian priest and pioneer of university pastoral care .

Strobl was born in 1908 as the son of a wine grower. He was ordained a priest in Vienna in 1931 and was appointed head of student pastoral care in Vienna in 1938 - a task that he held until 1969. During the Second World War, a circle of intellectual resistance against National Socialism formed around him .

The model of the "university community" developed by Strobl proved itself after 1945 in all Austrian university cities. The “Catholic student house” model includes a synthesis of dormitories for students, student cafeteria and foyer for open encounters beyond denominational, ideological and national borders.

In the 1970s, Prelate Strobl was clergyman assistant to the Austrian Catholic Action - after the death of Otto Mauer also in the Catholic Academic Association in Vienna - and as such made significant contributions to the Austrian Church: in the planning and implementation of the 1974 Austrian Catholic Day “Reconciliation”, the Austrian Synodal Process and the religious education programs on ORF (“Why believe?”, “Whom believe?”, “Why do Christians believe?”).

Prelate Strobl, who was also appointed to the Vienna Cathedral Chapter in 1969, is one of the founders of the Catholic University Youth Austria, the Afro-Asiatic Institute , the Austrian student support organization “ Pro Scientia ”, the magazine “ Wort und Truth ” and the Forum St. Stephan , the the conversation between science, art and culture has become a concern. As heir to his friend Otto Mauer , Strobl gave the decisive impetus for founding the "Otto Mauer Fund" in 1980 and for the foundation of the " Otto Mauer Prize ", which continues to be the most important award for young Austrian artists. Strobl died in Vienna in 1984 and was buried in his hometown Poysdorf.

Web links

• Literature by and about Karl Strobl in the catalog of the German National Library