Reichersberg, Monastery of
REICHERSBERG, MONASTERY OF
Under Augustinian canons; on the Inn River in the Diocese of Linz (before 1784 part of the Diocese of Passau), Upper Austria; the patron is St. Michael. It was founded in 1084 by Werner of Reichersberg (d. 1086), who entered the cloister after the death of his wife and son, and again by Abp. Conrad I of Salzburg (1105–47), who restored the possessions seized by an antibishop (of Salzburg), built the cloister (1122), consecrated the church (1126), and called in canons from the thriving monasteries of Saxony. Reichersberg was known also for the activity and writings of gerhoh and his brother Arno, who assisted Conrad in the Gregorian reform. Provost Paul Tellenpeck (1415–68) had historical sources collected and a register begun. After a fire in 1624, cloister and church were rebuilt (1625–44) and enlarged (1663–1704); they contain noteworthy frescoes, stuccowork, and sculpture. The provost has been mitered since 1654. The monastery was suppressed (1810–16) and since 1907 has belonged to the Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular of the Lateran; in 1964 it had 20 priests and two clerics and cared for 12 parishes.
Bibliography: g. weiss, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. m. buchberger, 10 v. (Freiburg 1930–38) 8:731–732; Geschichte und Sehenswürdigkeiten des Stiftes Reichersbergs (Ried 1934). b. f. mitterer, Die Reichersberger Chorherren (Vienna 1950).
[m. h. schmid]