page_title: Arnoldstein Abbey
section_title: 17th century to present
hierarchical_section_title: Arnoldstein Abbey / History / 17th century to present
caption_attribution_description: English: Plaque as acknowledgement of gratitude for the “Revitalization Association of the monastery ruin" and it`s chairman Bernhard Wolfsgruber inside the friary ruin in Arnoldstein, municipality Arnoldstein, district Villach Land, Carinthia / Austria / EU Deutsch: Inschrifttafel als Anerkennung gegenüber dem „Revitalisierungsverein Klosterruine“ und seinem Obmann Bernhard Wolfsgruber in der Klosterruine in Arnoldstein, Gemeinde Arnoldstein, Bezirk Villach Land, Kärnten / Österreich / EU &#160; This media shows the protected monument with the number 34172 in Austria. (Commons, de, Wikidata)
context_page_description: Arnoldstein Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Arnoldstein in Carinthia, Austria. Its church was dedicated to St George and first mentioned in historical records in 1316 - its choir, tower, west door and a few buttresses can still be seen. The monastery buildings from the Gothic and 17th century eras were arranged around the church in an oval.
context_section_description: In a bull by Ferdinand II of Tyrol of 12 April 1600 the abbey was finally connected to a Jesuit college set up at St. Veit, but the bishop of Bamberg was finally able to avert this by instead promising a contribution to the college's costs. After the free election of abbot Daniel in 1630 the abbey began to flourish once again until a major fire in October 1642, in the wake of which its funds were invested in buildings and equipment. 
  When the Patriarchate of Aquileia was dissolved and Bamberg's lands sold off to Austria in 1759 the abbey came under the princes' direct control. IN 1782 Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor decided to abolish all monasteries in Austria that did not make a direct contribution to education or nursing. He originally wanted to save Saint Paul's Abbey, Lavanttal but his advisors convinced him that abolishing Arnoldstein Abbey would do less damage. A court decree thus abolished it on 24 November 1783, with abbot Otto von Größing and 18 priests there allowed to choose becoming parish clergy or to switch to another monastery. The abbey's buildings and lands were transferred to the state and its library was transferred to the Klagenfurter Studienbibliothek, now known as the library of the University of Klagenfurt. Part of the abbey archives went to the Geschichtsverein für Kärnten and is now in the Carinthian National Archives (Kärntner Landesarchiv) in Klagenfurt. The abbey's rooms were used as government offices, rented and even (until 1854) used to house elementary school teachers. 
  The 1848 administrative reforms turned them into offices for the forestry administration, the district courts, the tax offices, the land registry, the notaries and the town council. Another fire on 16 August 1883 destroyed the buildings' wooden rooves and ceilings but the administration was unwilling to raise funds to repair them and so they were left to fall into ruin. The grounds were acquired by the Revitalisierungsverein Klosterruine Arnoldstein association on 16 August 1883
caption: Plaque about the ruins' restoration
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