Christmas - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2010 - 55 Euro Cent

The motif of this year's Christmas stamp was taken from an antiphonal of the Cistercian monastery Rein in Styria. The choral manuscript with valuable initials dates from the second half of the 15th century and once served as a liturgical book for the liturgy of the local monks. The picture shows the "classical scene" of the Nativity in the artistic interpretation of the early Renaissance. The history of the monastery of Rein goes back to the year 1129. During the lifetime of St. Bernard, the monastery was once founded in a densely wooded valley, since then monks of the Cistercian Order have been living there continuously. Margrave Leopold the Strong at that time called the first monks from Ebrach in Franconia here - they operated, in addition to their spiritual work, agriculture and fish farming. In addition, they were sought-after craftsmen and diligent writers; more than 400 manuscripts, numerous incunabula (and the calendar table of Johannes Kepler from the year 1607!) are kept carefully in the Abbey Library until today. Starting from Rein, the oldest Cistercian monastery in the world, four other abbeys were founded: Wilhering, Schlierbach, the New Monastery in Wiener Neustadt and the Slovenian Sticna. Numerous Styrian sovereigns found their final resting place in the Rein monastery. Without a question, the basilica itself is one of the largest and most beautiful churches in Styria. In 1138, the originally three-aisled Romanesque church was consecrated. In the following, especially in the 18th century, well-known artists and great craftsmen worked on the further design of the church space - today, of course, the baroque basilica radiates lofty beauty that invites to a celebration and retreat. In the summer of 2006, the foundations of the former Romanesque chapter hall were found during restoration work in the Marienkapelle. An extraordinary discovery was made: the tomb of Margrave Leopold, founder of Rein and founder of Styria. The oldest Madonna of the monastery found her new worthy place, where the Reiner monks meet several times a day to pray together.