!!!Altenburg

Altenburg, Lower Austria, municipality in the district of Horn, alt. 
388 m, pop. 737, area 28.12 km%%sup 2/%, above the Kamptal 
Valley southwest of Horn - Institut fuer Oeko-Ethologie (Institute for 
Eco-Ethology); mostly excursion tourism. - The town is dominated by 
the Benedictine monastery founded in 1144 by Count von Poigen-Rebgau. 
Parts of Medieval buildings have been excavated; the originally 
Romanesque collegiate church was changed to the Gothic style in 1265, 
then renovated in the Baroque style in 1730/1733 by J. Munggenast. The 
frescoes were painted by P. Troger in 1732/1733, the altarpieces by P. 
Troger (1734) and J. G. Schmidt (1735). The most notable parts of 
the monastery building are the Kaiserstiege staircase (with fresco by 
P. Troger), the Marmortrakt (marble wing), also known as Kaisertrakt 
(emperor's wing), with 6 halls, the library with its frescoes by 
Troger, as well as the crypt below with its grotesque danse macabre 
frescoes. The monastery was closed 1940-1947, severely damaged during 
the war and post-war period (Soviet occupation) and gradually 
renovated thereafter (completed in 1962). Several cultural events are 
held in Altenburg in the summer (Altenburger Saengerknaben, Summer 
Theatre, Chamber Music Festival).

!Further reading
Festschrift 850 Jahre Altenburg, 1994; B. 
Reichenauer, P. Troger in der Stiftskirche Altenburg, 1997.


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