Foundation acquires archive documenting Linz cathedral windows
Friday 18th September 2026 on 09:30 in
Austria
The Bischof Rudigier Foundation has acquired a major archive from the Tyrolean stained glass company, ORF reports. The historical documents trace the creation of the painted windows in Linz’s Mariendom cathedral and complement the cathedral’s existing plan archive.
Sketches, design drawings, portraits, photographs, photographic plates and extensive correspondence show how the windows developed from initial ideas into finished artworks.
The 42 painted windows in the cathedral’s nave and transept, together with three rose windows, form one of the Mariendom’s most significant window groups. They were created by the Tyrolean stained glass company between 1910 and 1924 and continue to shape the cathedral’s appearance.
Bishop Rudolph Hittmair played a key role in developing the windows’ imagery. Alongside religious motifs, they depict people, places and landscapes from Upper Austria, as well as historical events. They also tell the story of the cathedral’s construction and its supporters.
The newly acquired archive includes sketches, design drawings, coloured final designs, workshop drawings, postcards and photographs. It also contains extensive correspondence between Hittmair, the cathedral construction committee and the Tyrolean stained glass company.
Detailed discussions over portraits
The documents reveal not only artistic decisions but also personal and historical details. Letters show how carefully the depiction of individual people was negotiated. In one case, correspondents discussed the fact that a provincial governor did not look friendly in a photograph used as a model.
Changes were also requested by Archduke Franz Ferdinand for the imperial window. Correspondence records a discussion over whether his knees should be visible. A heraldic shield was ultimately placed in front of his legs.
The archive is to be gradually incorporated into the Mariendom’s existing plan archive and studied by researchers. The documents, together with digitisation work carried out in recent years, are also expected to help present the history of the painted windows to visitors.