Lower Austria urges dialogue and knowledge on St Leopold’s Day

Lower Austria marked its patron saint’s day on Sunday with calls to use knowledge, Christian values and culture to strengthen social cohesion, ORF reported. At a press conference at Klosterneuburg Abbey, Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner said St Leopold stood for peace and compromise.

Mikl-Leitner said the abbey, founded by St Leopold more than 900 years ago, was closely tied to the region’s history. Christianity had shaped social life in Lower Austria, she said, and its values were part of the region’s identity.

The abbey has also preserved, researched and shared knowledge for centuries, she said. Lower Austria supports several research projects there, including the digitisation of medieval manuscripts and studies of the Verdun Altar and the Agnes chandelier. Mikl-Leitner also pointed to the research institution ISTA, where scientists from around the world work on major questions of the day.

She said knowledge could help people understand connections and overcome divisions. At a time when opinion bubbles on social media can isolate people, she said, communities need places for dialogue and face-to-face encounters. She welcomed the Klosterneuburg Dialogues, an initiative the abbey plans to launch in 2027 to create space for discussion.

Provost Anton Höslinger said monasteries had conducted research and encouraged the exchange of knowledge from the beginning. Klosterneuburg Abbey has Austria’s largest private library, as well as an archive and a research centre for cultural studies founded in 2023.

Around 30 people at the abbey work on research projects, according to its economic director, Anton Gahleitner. About 1.5 million euros is budgeted for research and collections in 2027. The abbey has completed 30 projects in the past five years, including research using artificial intelligence to study medieval book decoration.

The abbey has also been undergoing a general renovation for more than a decade. A further 4.4 million euros is due to be invested by 2027. The abbey is covering 55 per cent of the costs, Lower Austria 25 per cent, with the remainder coming from the Federal Monuments Office, the diocese and the city of Klosterneuburg. Current work includes repairs to the defensive wall, original 1740 parquet floors in the Imperial Wing and the Marble Hall.

The day’s traditions include sliding over a giant barrel in the Binderstadl, a building at the abbey. The barrel is five metres long, four metres high and holds 56,000 litres. According to legend, the wishes of those who slide over it will come true.

Sunday also marked Lower Austria’s second Children’s State Holiday. The programme, expanded from last year’s first edition, offers free entry at 19 locations across the region’s four quarters. They include the KinderKunstLabor in the state capital, the VISTA Science Experience Center and Museum Gugging in Klosterneuburg, MAMUZ Castle Asparn an der Zaya and the House of Wilderness in Lunz am See.