The Rein Abbey Library
THE SECOND LARGEST MONASTERY LIBRARY IN STYRIA
After Admont Abbey in Upper Styria, Rein has the second largest abbey library in the region, with approximately 110,000 objects. The holdings of the abbey library comprise approximately 110,000 objects, including books, journals, individual sheets, musical scores, and even Kepler’s table from 1607. The valuable collection includes 390 manuscripts and 150 incunabula (early prints up to 1500). The main areas of focus are theology and historical disciplines.
The magnificent show room between the basilica and the library wing is decorated with ceiling frescoes by Joseph Amonte from 1753 and shelving from the abbey’s carpentry workshop.
From book chamber to magnificent library
Monastery libraries have always been understood as an “armory” for mind and soul. In Christian usage, “Armarium,” originally meaning armory, was the term used for the areas of a monastery where books were kept before there were separate libraries for them. It can therefore be assumed that the Franconian founding monks from Ebrach had already brought their books with them and kept them in the Armarium, a small room that can still be identified today on the so-called Abbots’ Gallery. From 1586 onwards, another room (“Bibliotheca superior”) is mentioned. During a renovation in 1612, this Bibliotheca superior with its ten workstations (“cathedrae”) was located above the original sacristy (today: St. Mary’s Chapel). The library moved into its current premises after the Baroque redesign of the abbey in 1763.
SCRIPTORIUM IN THE ABBEY
In addition to owning books, the production of books in a “Scriptorium” was also important in and for Rein. Especially at the end of the 12th century, writing was done not only for one’s own needs, but also for external clients (e.g. Salzburg Cathedral Chapter). From the turn of the century (15th/16th centuries), under Abbot Wolfgang Schrötl, there was also an efficient bookbindery in which older codices were newly bound.
THE REIN PATTERN BOOK
In the history of the Rein Abbey Library, there have been many painful changes to the book collection: For example, the humanist polymath Wolfgang Lazius “borrowed” the famous so-called Rein Pattern Book for his historical research. The codex from the early 13th century is one of the oldest known pattern books, which served as templates for artistic initials or graphics in the monastic scriptoria. After Lazius’ death in 1565, it came to the imperial court library in Vienna along with other manuscripts.
During the abbey’s crisis in connection with the Reformation, the library was neglected: In the 16th century, an inventory listed only 587 book titles in addition to 30 parchment volumes.
SCIENCE & EXPANSION
From the 19th century onwards, an intensive scientific interest of the conventuals can be observed, because many works from almost all subject areas were purchased under the abbots Ludwig Crophius (+ 1861) and Vinzenz Knödl (+1890) and the collection was systematically expanded by the librarians.
From the 20th century onwards, a financially endowed expansion was and is no longer possible. New acquisitions come from donations, estates and legacies. Precursors of this already existed in the 19th century, when the book collection of the diplomat Freiherr Josef von Werner was bequeathed to the library in 1878 or the book property of the canon lawyer Rudolf von Scherer (+1918). Currently, art-historical works by the art historians Annedore Dedekind and Horst Schweigert have been included in the abbey library as legacies; their cataloging is in progress and will take some time.
FATEFUL PLACE
Not only books have their fates, but also the place where they are stored. During the Second World War, a folklore institute had to be temporarily accommodated in the abbey. The damage to the building fabric of the monastery caused by the Rein flood in 1975 made a comprehensive restoration and stabilization of the statics necessary. The show room was restored between 1979 and 1984, and further steps were taken in 2019/2020: the restoration of the ceiling and wall frescoes in the show room and the windows in the show room and depot area, the installation of a lift for disabled access, and the installation of new shelves to accommodate the art-historical holdings and the Ferdinandea.
CONTACT
Library
Dr. Johann Uitz
E‑mail:
johannuitz4@gmail.com
Book sponsorships
Pater DDr. David Zettl
Telephone:
+43 676 87 42 61 00
E‑mail:
archiv@stift-rein.at
LIBRARY TODAY
Today, the abbey library has approximately 110,000 objects. The most valuable are and remain historical holdings. In Rein, these are 150 incunabula and 390 manuscripts; they are described by Dr. Walter Steinmetz in the manuscript catalog, which can be viewed electronically via the special collection of the University Library of Graz.
The interest of experts and museums worldwide is still present, as inquiries and visits show.
In addition to guided tours, the rooms of the abbey library are also available for codex research, as almost all disciplines in the humanities are represented. Classes and individuals with a legitimate interest are very welcome.