Michael Josef Maister

Michael Josef Maister (* approx. 1629 in Hartmannsdorf, today Großhartmannsdorf near Großsteinbach ; † November 7, 1696 ) was the 14th provost of Pöllau Abbey in Styria .

Life

Born in a small town in Eastern Styria, he completed philosophical and theological studies at the University of Graz and joined the Augustinian Canons Monastery in Pöllau while still studying , where he trained as a priest. In 1666 he worked as a pastor. He was unanimously elected the 14th provost of the monastery on May 13, 1669 and, after confirmation by Archbishop Max Gandolf, held this office until his death in 1696. He was buried in the collegiate church, but his bones were later transferred to the Johann Nepomuk Chapel of the Maria Pöllauberg Church .

Act

As provost of Pöllau Abbey, he expanded the monastery properties and finally had the monastery building itself expanded, even if he no longer saw its completion. He also had the previously acquired Külml Castle redesigned and expanded. Overall, he increased the reputation of the monastery enormously, so that he could choose the novices , also increasingly from the nobility, like his successor Johann Ernst von Orthofen , so that Pöllau was called the noble monastery . It was precisely because of the many educated and wealthy confreres that the business of the monastery achieved economic growth.

literature

• Announcements of the Historical Association for Styria Volume 6, Graz 1855 (PDF)