Christmas - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1978 - 3 Shilling

The Christmas stamp of the year 1978 shows the Madonna and Child (1739) by Martino Altomonte from the Collegiate Church Wilhering in Upper Austria. The collegiate church Wilhering in its present form was born in an "emergency". The Cistercian monastery, donated in 1146 by the brothers Ulrich and Colo of the Wilheringen family, was never rich. When a fire destroyed the church and monastery on March 6, 1733, it meant great economic difficulties. The abbot Johann Babtist Hinterhölzl from Zwettl, who was elected on 4 June 1734, had the difficult task of carrying out the reconstruction of the monastery and the church, despite limited financial means. Since a completely new church could not be built, only the pillars of the burned down church were broken off and the side walls raised a bit and vaulted. Also, the interior of the rebuilt church could be given for economic reasons only piece by piece in order. One of the first orders was the high altar picture. The 80-year-old painter Martino Altomonte painted it at half price. Since the abbot liked it, he commissioned two altarpieces for side altars. The first of these pictures is also taken from the brand image.