800 years of Dominicans in Vienna

 A personal perspective on the Jubilee Year 2026

The oldest documented mention of the Dominican monastery in Vienna dates back to 1226. Therefore, the 800th anniversary of the Monastery of Santa Maria Rotunda will be celebrated in 2026. It is known to be the third longest continuously inhabited Dominican monastery in the world. Only Krakow (1222) and Dubrovnik (1225) have longer histories. What is it like to live in a place where the Dominican friars have been present for centuries? Fr. Markus Langer OP, offers a personal glimpse into life behind these centuries-old walls.

Well, in everyday life, the centuries-long presence of the Dominicans in this place hardly plays a role. The pastoral work continues regardless of the age of the worn steps. And community life, studying, and praying together and privately are not, first and foremost, dependent on the age of the stones that surround us. On the one hand. On the other hand, however, there are also those certain impulses that the architecture of centuries past gives us – sometimes inspiring, sometimes unsettling.

Spacious: wonderfully expansive spaces

Inspiring: Yes, it is wonderful to be able to live in spaces that have been inhabited and enlivened by fellow brothers for centuries. Sometimes, for example, I wonder what all might have happened in our large corridors in earlier centuries, when even more brothers called our walls home. Perhaps these corridors were also used for craftwork. Perhaps as we experienced during the renovation of the courtyard from 2023 to 2024. At times, a whole group of craftsmen were planing and drilling in the large cloister and the long hallways, working on our old, partly Baroque, window frames. Yes, we are, in a sense, joining a long line of brothers who have made their daily pilgrimage from their rooms to the church. The monastery's impressive Book of the Dead, dating back to the 15th century, commemorates the hundreds of brothers who have prayed, studied, preached, counseled, provided spiritual guidance, administered sacraments, and otherwise worked here. They have left us wonderfully spacious rooms that give us air and room to breathe. Generous. Designed for a communal monastic life. This is often very pleasant. It also allows us to be hospitable to a certain extent.

But also: a constant task

On the other hand, these spaces, which have grown over the centuries—both in the monastery and in the church—also represent a constant task for us. Considerable thought, time, and money are invested in maintaining the buildings and grounds. Can we better insulate our building? Can we use photovoltaics? Can we finally make the church accessible? Do we need to take precautions to prevent walls from collapsing? Where did that fallen roof tile come from? What do we do with this or that art historical rarity? And so on and so forth.

Festive Weekend and Stamp with Initial

In the anniversary year of 2026, various events will be held to highlight this venerable birthday. Some events that would have taken place regardless will be given a special focus on the anniversary. The highlight, however, will be a festive weekend from June 12th to 14th, 2026.

Austrian Post will issue a stamp on this date featuring our founder in front of a depiction of the old Gothic Dominican Church in Vienna. Very few artistic representations of this earlier Gothic church, which was the second largest church in Vienna in the 15th century, exist. Our current early Baroque church, consecrated in 1634, represents only the second half of our history. And so the depicted Gothic church alludes to the first four hundred years. The image shows an initial taken from the so-called Heuner Missal. The Heuner Missal is a missal that was specially produced for our monastery in 1476/1477 and is located in our manuscript library. This small work of art very likely depicts the chancel of our Gothic Dominican church, with the city wall in front and the Stubentor gate to the left. This Gothic church has long since disappeared. But the spirit of Saint Dominic continues to blow through time. Even today.

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