1132: Cistercian
1138: Abbot of Morimond
1138: Bishop of Freising

1140: Bishop of Brixen, Tyrol
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Born before 1100 and brother of Gerhoch of Reichersberg, he entered Stift Rottenbuch in 1123 and probably was one of the canons who accompanied Bl. Hartmann in 1133. As propst, he was given the honor of bearing a crozier. He participated in the provincial synod of Salzburg in 1150. He died on January 11, 1167.

Stepbrother of Gerhoch of Reichersberg and Marquard, he entered the service of the bishop of augsburg in 1124. His zeal for reform later led to his expulsion and he went to Reichersberg. Between 1161 and 1163 he became Dean at Klosterneuburg. Though Bl. Hartmann wished him to succeed him in Neustift, he was unable to take that office. Rather he succeeded his brother as Propst at Klosterneuburg in 1167, where he briefly governed.

One of the most energetic and important Propsts, he secured the Stift’s economic foundation for generations to come. In addition to the produce of important works, like the Collectio Claustreneoburgensis, which included the first necrology and annals, Wernher also commissioned the Verdun Altar.

The most important event to occur during his reign was the May 26, 1187 Bull of Pope Urban III, who confirmed the privileges belonging to the community as a token of gratitude for their support during the Investiture Struggle.

1994: Bishop of Gurk
Briefly governing for a second time, he left to become bishop of Gurk, where he died in 1194.

Suffering poor relations with the bishop and Leopold VI, he was deposed after a lengthy reign.

He governed for three years but resigned for unknown reasons.

He was elected Propst of Klosterneubburg while he was Dean at St. Florian

While Propst, he served as a Visitor to the Canonical and Benedictine Hauses of the Diocese of Salzburg.

Pope Alexander IV gave him the privilege of using Pontificals in 1260. He participated in the Metropolitan Synod in Vienna and the Ecumenical Council of Lyons.

On account of his miserable mismanagement of the Stift, both spiritually and financially, he was deposed by the Visitors in 1301. He actually tried by force to return to the Stift, but was repulsed. It is unknown what happened to him subsequently or where he died.

He held to position of Kitchen Prefect before his election as Propst. He died in November 1306, six month after his resignation.

Before his election as Propst, he held the positions of Infirmarian and Head Cellarer. He is buried in the Stifts church in front of the altar dedicated to St. Augustine.

Sometimes considered a second founder, this son of a knight was ordained deacon in 1289 and put in charge of the hospice. He was elected Propst in 1317. A man of vision, he supported various cultural and artistic initiatives, earning the Stift a high reputation. He completed the west and north wings of the cloister, decorated with precious stained glass and to the rear of the Verdun altar was added four splendid paintings.

However, as a result of his heavy handed management, there was much strife between him and the Chapter. This led to his deposition by a Visitation of the Bishop Albert of Passau in 1323. However, Pope John XXII intervened and reinstated him in 1324, annulling the deposition. It was providential since the great threat to the existence of the community soon struck. A terrible fire broke out in 1330, devastating the church and most of the Stift. It was thanks to Stephen that community withstood this disaster and pressed onward. He died five years later and was buried in the middle of the Stift church.

He was Dean before being elected Provost and is buried in the now defunct St. Nicholas chapel.

The son of a knight, he died during the plague year of 1349.

Though his election was contentious as provost, he later went onto govern successfully. Pope Innocent VI awarded him and his successors the use of Pontificals and the crosier. Also, during his reign, in 1358 Duke Rudolf asked Pope Innocent VI to open the cause of Leopold. Permission was given and the process began. It would not be completed for another hundred and twenty-seven years! He was buried in near St. Leopold in the Chapter House.

Entering Klosterneuburg in 1349, he became the Custos in 1353 and then Dean from 1366 to 1371, when he was elected Propst. On February 20, 1382, the Cardinal Legate permitted Koloman and his successors to wear Pontifical shoes (sandalia). He resigned for unknown reasons and died a couple months later on September 20th. He was buried in the Stift church.

Prior to his election as Provost, he was Infirmarian and head cellarer, and while as Propst he served on the Duke’s Council. It was under his direction that the south tower of the Stift church was constructed.

Already a Canon and Kitchen Prefect in 1368, he was Pastor at St. Martin’s in 1371 and became dean in 1375. After governing as Propst for ten years, he resigned and died on June 9, 1413.

It is very likely that he was from Klosterneuburg itself. Elected Provost in 1409, he spent a considerable amount of time at the Ecumenical Council of Constance (October 1414-November 1415). He resigned as a result of the visitation of 1418 and died on April 23, 1423 and is buried in the Chapter House near St. Leopold.

Born in 1387, he first appears in the historical record as Dean in 1417. On the occasion of the visitation of the reform commission, stemming from the wishes of the council of Constance, and with the consent of the chapter, he was elected provost to succeed Albert Stöck. He was shortly thereafter named visitor for the archdiocese of Salzburg. As part of task as reformer, he reformed the habit of the Canonesses of St. Mary (later St. Mary Magdalene) in 1418 to include rochet and sarozium. This venerable house of canonesses in Klosterneuburg dated to at least 1160.

Though not attacked directly during the Hussite Wars (1423-28), the Stift was forced to support financially the war effort and many of its holdings were plundered or damaged. In 1434, he attended the council of Basel for two months.

Georg encouraged and strongly encouraged the scholarly endeavors of the canons, especially with respect to astronomy and cartography. He himself authored several works on astronomy and was in contact with other leading astronomers of his time.

He died in 1442 and was buried in the St. Nicholas chapel.

After holding a number of offices in the community, he was elected Provost in 1442 and resigned on account of ill heath. He died on August 31, 1451.

A Doctor of canon law, he was ordained in 1436, later served in Heiligenstadt 1448-51 and become Propst on July 28, 1451. It was during his administration in particular that Christian Humanism in the persons of Wolfgang Winthager and Johannes Swarcz, flourished at the Stift and contacts between the Canons and the University of Vienna grew. Simon was in the entourage of King Ladislaus Posthumus during his pilgrimage to Rome in 1453. That same year, the Canons were given a mitigation with respect to wearing the almutium in the choir during the summer; a lighter cloth substitute was hereafter permitted. In 1455 Simon also reordered the habit of the novices, making it easier to distinguish them from the professed members of the Chapter. The present day habit derives from this initiative. Finally, in 1463, Archduke Albrecht VI rewarded the Stift for its loyalty to him by awarding the community a share in the lucrative salt monopoly of Hallstatt. He resigned in 1465 and lived another ten years, dying on April 16, 1475.

Under his reign, the canonization process for Leopold was brought to its conclusion in 1485 and he promoted the community’s various artistic and cultural endeavors. Moreover the production and decoration of books and manuscripts as well was the formation of a library blossomed further in this time.

At this time, Vienna was erected as a diocese, though interestingly enough, Klosterneuburg remained under the diocese of Passau until 1729.

Pastor in Heiligenstadt (1474-82) and Head Cellarer (1482-85) before his election as Provost, Emperor Friedrich III appointed Jakob I to his Council and named him Chaplain in 1492. Emperor Maximilian did likewise in 1497.

Under Jakob, the famous “Babenberger Family Tree” was painted and Ladislaus Suntheim wrote his noteworthy history of the Babenberg family.

On February 15, 1506 the Canons translated the relics of St. Leopold. The date was delayed so long due to the schedule of the the Emperor, who wished to be present. The Archbishop of Salzburg presided, while numerous other Prelates were in attendance. This date was for a long time a holiday in Klosterneuburg.

Raised in Styria, he entered Klosterneuburg and served in Heiligenstadt (1506-09) until he was elected Propst. He improved considerably the financial basis of the Stift and enjoyed good relations with the Emperor. However, these were tumultuous times. Martin Luther unleashed the chaos of his reformation. A visitation of religious communities of Lower Austria, conducted in 1528, reported that all but Klosterneuburg and the Capuchins in Vienna had abandoned the Catholic faith. It is thanks to the Provost that Klosterneuburg remained faithful. Unfortunately, his successors proved to be far less worthy leaders. In 1529 the Stift was evacuated as a result of the invasion of the Ottoman Turks. Though there was considerable damage and loss of life, the Canons were able to return to the Stift last that year. In 1531, King Ferdinand I brought him to be one of his councilors at the Imperial Diet in Speyer. While the Stift remained stalwartly Catholic while Georg lived, less felicitous circumstances quickly developed upon his death.

Born in Klosterneuburg in 1484, this Provost held numerous positions in the community before his election. He reigned during very difficult years. The town of Klosterneuburg increasingly adhered to Lutheranism and so to the parishes belonging to Stift. As a result of the increasingly hostile environment and the heavy burdens of war taxes, the Stift itself fell into disrepair and the very life of the community dissolved. He resigned in 1551 and died on December 7, 1552 at the age of 68.

Born in 1528 in Klosterneuburg, Starl, a faithful Catholic, was unable to prevent the collapse of the Canonical Life as the rest of the community became Lutheran and treated with hostility. Such was the strain of his life that he died young on April 13, 1558 at the age of thirty! With his passing, the Protestant domination of the Stift was no longer hidden and now it was proclaimed openly.

The collapse of religious life at Klosterneuburg was not taken lightly. The imperial Commission, Bishop Urban of Gurk and the Knight, George of Mäming, suggested the appointment of the Provost of Herzogenburg to a new election. The suggestion was rejected and instead the Chapter elected Peter Hübner.

He was a promising choice. Only four years earlier on November 14, 1554 he had been sent away for drunkenness to Wittingau, only to be reinstated in August 1555. His governance of the Stift was a disaster. The report from the Visitation of 1561 summarizes the scandalous state of the house: thirteen canons, six concubines, eight children and a gluttonous consumption of wine. The remonstrations that resulted from the Visitation bore no fruit with Hübner. As a consequence of his sham wedding in the Stift’s church in 1562, he was finally suspended on September 3, 1562. On January 8, 1563 he was excommunicated and removed from office. He left the Stift in July, 1563 and disappeared.

This sad man’s life does however end on a hopeful note as he died between 1593-1595, after a long illness in a house belonging to the Stift in Vienna as a penitent reconciled to God and the Church.

The February 6, 1564 election of Christoph Reym as successor to Hüber was not acceptable to the Imperial Commission. Only later that year was a comprise candidate found and elected.

Hintermayr was a Bavarian, born in 1521 in Hochwang. He entered the Stift in 1541. The report of the Visitation of 1563 describes the condition of the the Stift when Hintermayr became Provost: seven canons, seven concubines, three spouses and fourteen children. Wine consumption continued to raise as well. In addition, he faced a financial catastrophe. Choosing between rectifying immorality or insolvency, he chose to deal with the latter, ignoring the dismal state of the religious life. Reform would have to wait until the next Provost.

It was during Hintermayr’s long reign that the last Canonness of St. Mary Magdalene, Apollonia Khatzler, died on March 20, 1568. Hintermayr died while on a visit to St. Dorothea in Vienna on April 10, 1577.

Born in Lower Saxony in 1541, he studied under the Jesuits at the University in Dillingen and came to Vienna in 1565. By 1573 he was the Dean of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Five years later he was obliged to take up the difficult task of reforming Stift Klosterneuburg. On January 30, 1578 he was clothed as a canon and at the same time made his solemn profession. A month later Pope Gregory XIII granted the request that Christiani be dispensed from the novitiate and he thus became Propst. His short six year reign was decisive in the history of the Stift as he successful reintroduced the Catholic faith and religious life to Klosterneuburg. Moreover, he brought about significant, if incomplete, success in reforming the Stift parishes. He died at the age of 43 and was buried before the high altar in the Stift church.

One of the Catholic reformers brought into the Stift in 1578 by Provost Kaspar Christiani, Polzman was born in Vienna, though he had served as a priest elsewhere. With the permission of the Nuncio, Graf Bartholomaus of Portia, Polzman became dean while he was still a novice! Pope Gregory XIII dispensed Polzman from the remainder of his novitiate in July and he made his solemn Profession on the Assumption of Our Lady in 1578. In 1580 he became administrator of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Geras. He returned to Klosterneuburg and became Propst on March 5, 1584. While Christiani had successfully reformed the house, Polzman as Propst focused on the reform of the parishes. The efforts bore fruit and many Lutherans returned to the Catholic faith.

Following the death of Propst Balthasar Polzman the Chapter elected Andreas Weissenstin on December 18, 1596. However, for one reason or another, his election was not recognized by the Landesfürsten, the local governor, and for four years the office was left vacant until Thomas Rueff, a secular priest, was imposed on the Stift.

Thomas Rueff, a Doctor of Philosophy and Law, at different times a professor on the Faculties of Philosophy and Law at the University of Vienna, a Canon of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Dean at Lorch and a member of the Imperial Council, was clothed and installed as Propst on June 28, 1600. While Propst he continued his academic career, becoming Dean of the Law Faculty in 1602 and the Rector of the Univeristy in 1608.

After Rueff’s death, the Chapter continued to suffer interference from the Government with respect to the election of a new Provost. Three men were elected, but not confirmed by the Emperor before finally Andreas Mosmiller was imposed, like Rueff, on the Community.

Propst Andreas Mosmiller was born in Bavaria on December 1, 1575. He was clothed as a novice on May 25, 1597 and thereupon held a number of positions in the house. He was sent to Stift St. Dorothea in Vienna to serve as their Provost in 1610. When called upon to govern Klosterneuburg in 1616, he continued as as Provost of St. Dorothea for two more years.

During his watch, the medieval dormitorium was renovated through the installation of permanent walls, which replaced older wooden partitions, and the enlargement of the windows. Other buildings were expanded as well. Among the various economic activities of the Stift, the most notable were the underwriting of the newly founded house of Camadolese monks on the Kahlenberg, the acceptance of responsibility for the goverance of the parish of Kühnring and other locations and finally the purchase of Schloß Hagenbrunn and Reinprechtspölla.

Born in 1590 in Salzungen in Thüringen (Thurigia), he entered the Canons Regular at Klosterneuburg in 1621 and professed on the feast of St. Augustine in 1622. Elected Provost in 1630, he reigned for thirteen years.

The most important initiative Propst Bernhard undertook was the first phase of the Baroque renovation of the church. This included adding stucco to the interior of the church and the restoraiton of the organ. The project continued until 1645.

In 1635, Bernhard was also given the task of overseeing two canonries in Bohemia, Wittingau and Forbes, both of which had fallen on hard times. Thanks to financial support and personnel from Stift Klosterneuburg, these two near extinct communities were revitalized. By 1663 there were both capable of self-goverance and remained in existence until Emperor Joseph II suppressed them in 1785.

Born in Kestnholz in Alasce in 1598, the future provost entered the community in March, 1624 and was professed the following year. As Propst, he received permission from the Bishop of Passau to observe the propers of the Augustinian Canons, Proprium Canonicorum regularium santci Augustini, on December 22, 1643. He also received a gift of a clock from Leonhard Löw of Löwenberg for the church.

Born on September 19, 1613 at M¸nster in Westphalia, he was clothed as a novice on January 16, 1639. Before becoming provost he was pastor in Kierling and then Korneuburg. This long reigning provost and his successors were conferred the title “Imperial Counsellor” in 1651. The visitation of 1660 went well and in 1663, the Emperor proclaimed St. Leopold patron of Austria and fixed November 15th as a holiday. Thereafter it was the custom of the imperial house to attend the liturgy and festivities at Stift Klosterneuburg for the new patron whenever possible.

Born on August 1, 1631, this provost became a Doctor of Philosophy as well as holding various position in the Stift before his Election on December 15, 1675. Under his governance the Baroque renovation of the Chapel of St. Leopold, the former Chapter House, was undertaken. In addition at the of his reign the second phase of the Baroque renovation of the church began (1680-1702).

Just two years before his own death in 1679, a deadly plague struck Klosterneuburg and the nearby areas. Several canons died on account of their pastoral care of their people in the face of this catastrophe. The devastation wrought by the plague was extensive, however there remained the consolation of the faith and the hope offered by the Sacraments. For example, future Provost Christoph Matthai gave Last Rites to approximately 1,000 victims, ensuring that they would depart this world with the confidence and hope.

Propst Sebastian governed the Stift during one of its greatest crisis: the Ottoman Turk siege of Vienna in 1683. Born in Bavaria, he held a number of positions in the community before he was elected provost.

The Ottoman siege of Klosterneuburg began on July 18, 1683 and lasted until September 8, 1683, the Nativity of Our Lady. At this point the entire community has fled to St. Nikola in Passau or Ranshofen except for the young priest, Wilhelm Ignaz Lebsafft and the choral brother, Marzellin Georg Ortner. While Lebsafft carried for the spiritual needs of the town, Ortner organized the defense of the town. Though the city was damaged, the Ottomans were repelled every time they attacked.

When Propst Sebastian and the Chapter returned to the Stift on October 5th, they found Lebsafft dead. Left in a weakened state by his zealous priestly work, he contracted dysentery and died on October 4th. Ortner survived the trial and was honored for his heroic efforts in defense of the Stift and the town.

Born in Neustadt in Unterfranken (Lower Franconia) in 1638, he entered Klosterneuburg on November 25, 1657 and went on to serve in a number of Stift parishes before becoming Dean and later Propst.

During his twenty year reign, the Stift continued to buy or receive gifts of property. Moreover, in 1703 the Stift financed the construction of a new town, Neulerchenfeld. This was one of several settlements that Klosterneuburg founded. In 1704 the Stift become home to an enormous (it could hold 860 buckets of wien) and therefore famous barrel.

Propst Matthaei resigned early due to illness and died on December 17, 1707.

A Master of Liberal Arts, a Doctor of Philosophy and a Protonotary Apostolic, Propst Jakob governed only briefly. Born in 1668, he entered the Stift on All Saints’ Day in 1685 and was ordained a priest in October 1692. Elected Propst on February 28, 1706, he received his blessing on June 24 of the same year and died on December 6th.

Doubtless is Ernest Perger one of the most influential provosts of Klosterneuburg. His initiatives changed the face of the Stift as a community and as a complex of buildings.

This Master of Liberal Arts and Philosophy as well as a Doctor of Theology was born in Horn on December 6, 1667. He was clothed as a novice on the Feast of the Assumption, 1685, professed on the Epiphany in 1687 and offered his first Mass on October 5, 1692, the same day as the previous provost, Jakob Cini. Prior to becoming Propst he was the Dean from 1699-1707. As Provost, he likewise held the position of Dean at the Faculty of Theology at the University in Vienna in 1709 and a year later became Rector Magnificus of the University itself. He was the first Provost to bear the title Lateran Abbot since it was he who in 1739 confederated the Stift with the most venerable of the Canonical Congregations, the Lateran Canons.

The achievements of his reign are numerous. In 1714 Johann Baptist Känischbauer gave the Canons the exquisite Monstrance of the Legend of the Veil to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the foundation of Stift Klosterneuburg. Propst Ernest also took this festivities surrounding the anniversary of the consecration of the church on the feast of St. Michael to suppress the traditional canonical habit of a white linen cassock and surplice and introduce the black woolen cassock and a sleeveless bell-shaped linen shirt, the sarozium. On Sundays and feast days the Canons wore rochetts in choir. It should be noted that while the Canons wore the new version of the habit, the novices retained the white linen cassock and surplice until 1772.

In addition to the reform of the Canonical habit, Propst Ernest also decided to discontinue the practice of clothing choir brothers (Chorfrater). The last choir brother, Laurenz Jakob Kraus, died on January 18, 1733. There have been, as is true today, choir brothers since, but their cases were extraordinary.

Propst Ernest also completed the third stage of the Baroque renovation of the church (1723-30). New hand carved choir stalls were added in 1723-24 and a new marble high altar was installed in 1726-28. In 1729 Donate Felice rearranged the Presbyterium and the windows were likewise remodeled. Also in 1729 the Stift took delivery of the so-called Leopoldiornat, a heavy gold and silk pontifical set of vestments still used on the feast of St. Leopold to this day.

Meanwhile the Refectory was likewise renovated (1725-28). New art was added as well as a chancel for the table readings. A monastic seating order was likewise retained (this was later suppressed by Propst Ambros Lorenz).

Besides the church, the entire Stift was slated for an entirely new plan according to the wishes of Emperor Karl VI, who wished for an Austrian Escorial. He employed Felice as the architect and a grandiose plan was drawn up. The first stone was laid by the Stift’s Chamberlain, Ambros Schmid, on April 30, 1730 and a liturgical cornerstone laying ceremony was celebrated on May 25th by the Propst. The Emperor lived only long enough to enjoy one meal at his not yet completed imperial residence at the Stift on the Feast of St. Leopold, 1739.

Also during 1739, Stift Klosterneuburg confederated with the Lateran Congregation. The Stift was given the rights and privileges of the Lateran Congregation and in thanksgiving offered every three year a solemn celebration of the Assumption of Our Lady for the growth and well-being of the Lateran Congregation. The Provost henceforth bore the title “Lateran Abbot” and the canons, “Lateran Canons.” As well, the Stift was entitled to full exemption through this aggregation. However, it seems that in reality, neither the members of community nor the Bishops were aware of this union. Therefore the Stift in practice remained under the governance of the Bishop.

Propst Ernest’s long four year reigned ended on Christmas Eve, 1748, when he died.

Born in 1703 in Waidhhofen a. d. Ypps, he entered the Stift on september 12, 1723, was professed in 1724 and ordained in 1729. Like his predecessor he was a Master of the Liberal Arts and Philosophy and a Doctor of Theology. He held a number of positions in the community before his election as successor of Propst Ernest Perger.

Besides governing the community, Propst Berthold also played role in the goverance of Lower Austria and from 1753 onward he was named adminstrator of Stift St. Pölten. He oversaw the construction of a Stift residence in Vienna and various acquisitions including vineyards in Nußdorf, Heiligenstadt, Kahlenbergerdorf and Klosterneuburg.

At the behest of Empress Maria Theresia, Propst Berthold accepted the mandate to assist in the rural missions in Upper Austria, Carinthia and Styria. He sent Canon and Master of Philosophy Wilhelm Sebastian Hätzl, who during his three year mission (1753-56) met with great success. Where others failed earlier, he brought many Protestants back into full communion with the Catholic Church.

Propst Berthold died on March 16, 1766 in Vienna

Born on October 1, 1729 in Vienna, this future Provost carried on the tradition of scholarship of his predecessors. Like them, he was a Master of the Liberal Arts and Philosophy and a Doctor of Theology. He was clothed on December 17, 1747, professed on December 21, 1748, ordained a priest on September 22, 1753. He was a Cooperator in Heiligenstadt, the Custos and the Cellarer before he was elected to succeed Propst Berthold.

His most important contribution to the Stift was the foundation of the Stift’s own theological faculty in 1768. It began humbly with two Canons as professors, one teaching speculative theology, the other practical theology. However, the promise of this faculty would not be realize until the 19th Century since Emperor Joseph II closed all theology faculties except for imperial faculties in 1783.

A Master of the Liberal Arts and Philosophy, this future provost was born in 1721 and worked in Heiligenstadt, Kierling, Leopoldau and Korneuburg before his election.

It was Propst Ambros who relocated the Stift’s library from the Altstift (old Stift) to the northern and eastern tracts of the Neustift (new Stift) and he himself took possession of a new apartment in the Neustift for the use of the provost in 1775. The following year witnessed the last time that the Imperial Household attended the festivities for St. Leopold.

In 1778 the Stift reformed its junior Latin school, which dates to the 15th Century, into a proper secondary school. The Stift pastor served as the principal. The Stift operated the school for almost 125 years before it was finally closed in 1921 due to financial difficulties. The building was taken over by a public school.

Propst Ambros during 1780-81 also replaced the wooden tabernacle with a new silver one in the church and a new 16 pipe organ was constructed for the southerly gallery. He died in 1781.

The Doctor of Theology and Master of the Liberal Arts and Philosophy was born in Nikolsburg in Moravia on May 8, 1731. He entered the Stift in 1749 and was ordained in 1755. Before his election as Provost, he held the positions of Librarian (1766), Novice Master (1766-73) and Dean (1770-82). He was also appointed Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Vienna in 1786.

Elected in 1782, he governed the community during perilous times. Not since the Protestant Reformation had the Canonical Life been so threatened. Ironically this danger came from the same institution has restored the Canonical Life to the Stift after its self-destruction under the influence of Lutheranism: the Emperor. The new Emperor, Joseph II, was very different from his mother, Empress Maria Theresia. His ecclesiastical policies were worldly and utilitarian in their ends. For this reason, all forms of religious life in the Austrian Empire lived with the threat of extinction.

In April, 1782, Pope Pius VI took the unusual step of traveling to Austria to remonstrate with the Emperor. During his visit, on April 20th, the Holy Father visited the Stift. His efforts to forestall the Emperor’s designs were unsuccessful. On November 11, 1782 Stift St. Dorothea in Vienna was merged with Klosterneuburg, making Propst Floridus administrator of the Viennese canonry. Just four years later Emperor Joseph II suppressed Stift St. Dorothea altogether.

In 1783, Emperor Joseph II decreed that all priestly formation would be given exclusively in imperial seminaries. All other faculties of theology were closed including the school at Klosterneuburg. The threat of Josephinism, as the Emperor’s policies are called, was very real. Many religious houses were suppressed and others were made more “useful” by imposing various “practical” activities on them. During those years, Stift Klosterneuburg, for its trouble, had several more parishes imposed on it. While this was not as detrimental to the Canonical Life as it is to other forms of religious life, it certainly burdened the community.

If there was a spiritual need for these parishes, their construction would be a positive development. However the Emperor’s plan was less concerned with the spiritual health of his subjects, but with the usefulness of the church as an arm of civil administration. The affects of this bureaucratization of pastoral life in the Austrian Empire was not without negative consequences.

In 1786 the Stift financed the construction of a new settlement of thirty houses on the east bank of the Danube, which thereafter was named Floridsdorf, after the Provost. The Stift also assisted the families to rebuild their homes after extensive flooding in 1787. Also in 1786 the Stift purchased the complex on the Leopoldsberg and its surrounding woods and enacted a program of land reform. In 1787 the Stift opened a bakery, which endured until 1814.

Emperor Joseph II died and was succeeded by Emperor Leopold II, who upon the death of the last provost of the canonry of St. Pölten in 1791 appointed Propst Floridus and his successors as the dignity of the Head Chaplain of the Ancestral Lands of Austria (Oberst Erblandhofkaplan von Österreich). In 1796 the Provost requested and receive permission to re-establish the school of theology at Klosterneuburg. On January 3, 1797 classes began again, covering the first two years of studies. Subsequently this modest program grew into a complete theological education.

Propst Leeb died on August 13, 1799.

Like his predecessor, Provost Gaudenz was born in Moravia. He governed through the trials of the Napoleonic Wars and the uncertain peace the followed the Congress of Vienna.

Ordained a priest in 1771, he served as a confessor at the pilgrim church in Hietzing, Novice Master (1770-1800), Librarian (1795-1800), Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Vienna (1795) before his election as Provost in 1800. A Doctor of Theology, his strong interest in education led him to double the two year program at the Stift school of theology to four years in 1801. The next year he was chosen to be the Rector magnificus at the University of Vienna.

Also in 1802, an imperial decree settled the question of the ownership of the wealth of the suppressed Stift St. Dorothea. Klosterneuburg at this time came into possession of the Albrecht Altar, which now stands in the St. Sebastian Chapel. Its importance lies in the fact that one of its panels possesses the oldest representation of Vienna. The next year Klosterneuburg took possession of the Dorotheerhof on the Plankengasse in Vienna.

Twice during the Napoleonic Wars (1805-6 and 1809) was the Stift occupied by French troops. The occupation led to a dispersion of the Canons and cost great sums of money. However this did not prevent the Canons for carrying on their work. In fact in 1806, produced at the expense of the Stift, a new four volume Hebrew edition of the Old Testament under the direction of Dr. Johannes Jahn and with the assistance of four of the Canons.

A second French occupation of the Stift took place in 1809.

This Doctor of Theology was born on February 10, 1776 and entered the Canons on October 6, 1795. Ordained in 1800, he served as Confessor at the pilgrimage shrine in Hietzing, a professor of Church History at the Stift’s School of Theology, Novice Master, a professor at the faculty of Theology at the University of Vienna, Principal for the Stift’s school, Censor Liborum and Director of the Oriental Academy. He was elected Propst in 1830 and continued to serve in numerous other roles as well. He was deeply involved in the oversight of the Austria educational system and was named Rector Magnificus of the University of Vienna in 1838.

In the Stift numerous renovations were undertaken. The painting of the Nativity of Our Lady was placed above the High Altar, where is hangs to this day; the Verdun Altar was relocated to its present place in the old Chapter House, which had already become the St. Leopold’s Chapel, where pilgrims by the thousand venerated the relics of the Holy Margrave; and the construction of the New Stift was finally brought to its completion. The latter dramatically changes the life for the canons since it brought with it a new refectory, a new library and new living quarters.

Outside, the Stift’s garden was lay out in the English manner and a crypt for the Canons was built in the city cemetery, where Ruttenstock would buried. The Stift also took over the parish in Jedlesee and Strebesdorf and paid for the contruction of a new church in Meidling dedicated to St. John Nepomuk.

Born in Moravia on July 6, 1793, the future Provost was ordained on September 1, 1816 and served as a Professor of Moral Theology at the Klosterneuburg School of Theology for many years. At the same time he was Novice Master and he was appointed Preacher to the Imperial Court (1820-1840) and Religion Teacher to the children of Archduke Karl (1832-1844).

Propst Wilhelm commissioned a new chapel to accompany the new crypt for the deceased Canons in 1846 and built a new building for the Stift’s school in 1852. That same year the Stift bought the ruined Cistercian abbey of Horn, whose chapter house and a portion of the cloister remained intact and were transferred to the Stift.

In 1855 the Stift bought property in Hungary, all of which was lost in 1919 during the Communist uprising of Bela Khun, then returned later that year and finally expropriated permanently in 1944.

From 1913: Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal

1919 – 1937: Abbot General

1946 – 1953: Abbot General

1954 – 1987: Abbot General
1968 – 1974: Abbot Primate

Since 2002: Abbot General