Augustiner Chorherrenstift Neustift in Vahrn (Augustinian Canons Regular Monastery)

The diocese was not in good condition at that time, it had been repeatedly drawn into conflicts between the emperor and the pope and therefore temporarily without spiritual leadership. As a result, pastoral care and the training of the clergy had been neglected.

Hartmann decided not to engage in a power struggle with the cathedral chapter, especially regarding the introduction of the Augustinian rule, which was vehemently rejected by the canons. Instead, he decided to found a monastery north of Brixen on the road to the Puster Valley, which was intended to support his intentions for the reform of the diocese. For this construction, Hartmann found a powerful promoter and supporter in Reginbert von Säben. Reginbert not only donated the actual building site, but also several properties and plots of land in the surrounding area. At that time, Neustift was the only Augustinian collegiate abbey in the whole of Tyrol.

The emerging monastery soon experienced an astonishing heyday. The scriptorium and the library were famous, and the quality of the choir singing is emphasized in contemporary writings. Many famous painters and artists worked for the monastery, and the magnificent altars and paintings in the pinacotheca – including works by Michael and Friedrich Pacher and Marx Reichlich – testify to this impressively.

In the Baroque period, there was an extensive restructuring and expansion of the abbey in several stages, so that Neustift is now one of the largest monastery complexes in the whole of Tyrol. The Romanesque abbey church was brightened and splendidly baroquized around 1740. Prior to this, the cloister area and gardens had already been expanded. In the 1770s, the library wing was finally renewed, with the wonderful large library hall in Rococo style. It houses a unique collection of valuable manuscripts and codices. Other attractions include the Gothic cloister with its colorful and expressive frescoes, the fountain in the courtyard depicting the seven wonders of the world, and the Engelsburg, which was part of the hospice and a defensive structure in the Middle Ages, later used as a dungeon, and now a picturesque venue for numerous exhibitions.

Definitely worth a visit is also the monastery's wine cellar, as the canons cultivate several vineyards in the climatically favorable region of the Eisack Valley and produce excellent wines!

Address: Stift Neustift, Stiftstraße 1, 39040 Vahrn, Tel. 0472/836189
Opening hours: open all year round Mon-Sat at 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 (with at least 10 people) Closed on Mondays from January to March, open from mid-July to mid-September Mon-Sat at 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

www.kloster-neustift.it