Cultural Partners / Stift Rein
Rein Abbey Library
Markgraf Leopold I of Steyr founded the Cistercian monastery of Rein (Latin:runa) in 1129, during the lifetime of Saint Bernard. Today, Stift Rein is the oldest Cistercian monastery in the world, an active monastery that has been in continuous operation.
The monastery is a living community, a place of prayer and hospitality. Initially, the monks cultivated the landscape around the monastery. Soon, tasks in science and culture also emerged, such as the library and scriptorium. Later, they also took on the pastoral care of the parishes entrusted to the monastery.
The library of the monastery of Stift Rein
After Admont, the monastery owns the second largest monastery library in Styria. Its collection comprises around 110,000 items, including books, periodicals, individual sheets, and musical instruments, all the way up to the Kepler table from 1607.
The ornate reading room is located between the basilica and the library wing. Its ceiling frescoes by Joseph Amonte from 1753 adorn it. In addition, the stands from the cabinet-making workshop are also present. The library moved into these rooms after the Baroque renovation of Stift Rein in 1763.
Manuscripts, scriptorium and model book
The valuable collection includes 390 manuscripts and 150 incunabula, that is, early printed works dating from 1500 onwards. The focus is on theology and the historical disciplines.
In addition, the production of books was also important in Stift Rein. Especially at the end of the 12th century, the monks in the scriptorium also wrote for external clients, such as the cathedral chapter of Salzburg. The Reiner Musterbuch from the early 13th century is also famous. It is one of the oldest known sample books for artistic initials. However, the scholar Wolfgang Lazius „borrowed“ the codex. After his death in 1565, the book thus came into the imperial court library in Vienna.
The images on this page show the library hall, an open historical book, and the Kepler table.