Vorau

Vorau, Styria, market town in the district of Hartberg, alt. 659 m, pop.1,508, area 4.71 km², in the Joglland south of the Wechsel Region. - Branch office of the District Commission, private hospital, education centre (in the abbey), campus of the commercial academy in Hartberg, St. Martin agricultural trade school; large-scale butchery, wood-processing industry, building and construction industry. Local heritage museum and open-air museum. - Abbey of the Augustinian Canons Regular (CRSA), founded in 1163 by Margrave Otakar III, of the Romanesque-style pier basilica (around 1170), only the southern (clock) tower has been preserved, Baroque reconstruction 1660-1662 according to plans by D. Sciassias, magnificent high altar (1701-1704) by M. Steinl, splendid frescoes (without stuccowork) by K. Ritsch, J. Grafenstein, J. K. Waginger and C. Unterhuber, vestry with frescoes (1715/1716), in the abbey building (alterations around 1619), chapter house with frescoes (1708) by the painter of the abbey J. C. Hackhofer. Vorau had one of the most important manuscript rooms in Austria during the Middle Ages: Library in the northern wing (1725-1733) with about 40,000 prints, 206 incunabula and 415 manuscripts (e.g. Vorau Manuscript with "Kaiserchronik" (imperial chronicle, comprises the first part of the Vorau Manuscript, oldest work of history in German)), library hall of 27 m length, manuscript room with painting (around 1700) by H. A. Weissenkircher. Plague monument (1720); church of St. John the Baptist (12^th  and 15^th  centuries); market church of St. Ägydius (consecrated in 1202, extensions in the Gothic style in the 14^th  century, during the 17^th and 18^th  centuries Baroque-style extensions) with Baroque interior (high altar with statue of the Virgin Mary, pulpit), Gothic frescoes, ceiling frescoes by J. C. Hackhofer (1708); filial church of the Holy Cross with graveyard (consecrated in 1445, alterations in 1635 and in 1710) with altars and passion paintings (18^th  century); late Gothic column with lantern (2^nd  half of the 15^th  century); town hall (16^th  century).

Literature: F. Hutz, Vorauer Heimatblätter, no. 1, 1979 (since then 1 no. every year); 825 Jahre Stift Vorau. In unum congregati, no. 3/4, 1988.