Saint Paul's in Lavanttal Abbey, Benedictine monastery in Sankt Paul im Lavanttal, Austria
Saint Paul's in Lavanttal Abbey is a Benedictine monastery whose buildings stand on a rocky hill above Sankt Paul im Lavanttal. The monastery church is a Romanesque pillar basilica completed in the early 13th century, with a tall central section under a steep reddish-brown tiled roof, a tall arched window below the gable, and a lower rounded apse with a conical red roof. The monastic buildings were largely rebuilt in the 17th century.
The monastery was founded in 1091 by Count Engelbert of Spanheim and became a leading religious and cultural center in the region. It suffered occupation during the Nazi period from 1940 to 1945 but was restored after the war and remains active today.
The abbey's name comes from the church Siegfried I of Spanheim built for the Apostle Paul before 1065; he died on pilgrimage to Jerusalem that year and was buried here. The monastery keeps large art and book collections, and its grammar school, the Stiftsgymnasium, teaches about 700 pupils.
Visitors reach the monastery by following the valley road, and the church and parts of the complex are open to enter, with guided tours available through its spaces. It is best to check ahead whether the grounds are open to individual visitors since an active Benedictine community still lives there.
The crypt beneath the Baroque high altar holds the coffins of 13 members of the Habsburg family. Among those buried at the abbey are Leopold III, Duke of Austria, and Elisabeth of Carinthia, Queen of the Romans. The church also keeps 44 frescoes painted by the Tyrolean masters Friedrich and Michael Pacher after the fire of 1367.
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