St. Florian#

St. Florian, Upper Austria, market town in the district of Linz-Land, alt. 296 m, pop. 5,116 (1981: pop. 4,129), area 44.21 km2, municipality south east of Linz. - Recyclable waste collection centre, day-care home of the Lebenshilfe organisation of Upper Austria, old peoples' home, Sumerauerhof open-air museum (Samesleiten), hunting museum of Upper Austria (Hohenbrunn Palace), historical fire-fighting depot and abbey museum, museum, museum railway, golf course, advanced level school of agriculture. Production of windows and doors, furniture production, saw mill owned by the abbey, tent manufacture, building trade, cable production, 2 organ workshops, store house, furniture trade, transportation companies. - Abbey of Augustinian Canons Regular (since 1071); monastery dating from Carolingian times; crypt built in pre-Romanesque/Romanesque times; walls and tower partly Gothic; remodelled in Baroque style (1686-1708), original building designed by C. A. Carlone. Legend has it that the collegiate church was built above the grave of St. Florian. Excavations suggest that the building goes back to Roman times. Decorated by B. Carlone (stucco work), J. A. Gumpp and M. Steidl (frescoes, 1690-1695); high altar by J. B. Colomba (1683-1690), choir stalls by A. Franz (1690), rich Baroque side altar-pieces with paintings by J. M. Rottmayr (1719) and A. Celesti (1700) and others. "Brucknerorgel" (the composer Bruckner - was buried beneath this organ) by F. X. Chrismann (1770-74). The buildings of the Abbey, built by J. Prandtauer, J. and M. Steinhuber, surround 3 courtyards; staircase (1704-1714), marble room (1718-1724) with frescoes by B. Altomonte after sketches by M. Altomonte and trompe l'oeil painting by I. Sconzani (1723), imperial room (1706-1774), library (1744-1750, J. G. Hayberger) with around 130,000 volumes (809 manuscripts and 800 incunabula). - Abbey collection: old gallery (paintings of the 17th and 18th  centuries), paintings from the 15th and 16th  centuries (by A. Altdorfer and works by the Danube School (Donauschule); stained glass panels); 2 wooden statues of St. Florian (around 1300); copper engravings, drawings; mineralogical collection.

Literature#