The Marian vestments

An especially valuable textile exhibit in the treasury at Klosterneuburg is the Marian vestments, one of the most significant sacral works of the Viennese Jugendstil.

In 1910 the monastery asks the Imperial and Royal School of Arts in Vienna – today the University of Applied Arts – to create pontifical vestments for the Marian feast days. The school organises a competition among the students, won by Anton Hofer, a pupil of Koloman Moser.

The vestments cause quite a stir when they’re completed in 1911 and become world famous when they are displayed at the Eucharist Congress in Vienna in 1912. The Klosterneuburg Marian vestments comprise 27 pieces.

The most important are the chasuble (of the main celebrant), the cope (or choir mantle) and the 4 dalmatics (worn by deacons). Others include the stola (a narrow band worn by the priest around his shoulders), the maniple (now a less common item, worn around the left hand), the velum (a square cloth used to cover the chalice), the mitre (or hat) and bursa (the flat material bag the corporal is kept in).