Barbara Zeidler: A different view of Vienna

A different view of Vienna

Austrian is well known as a land of culture, Vienna as a city of museums. But appart from the most famous ones, like the Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna, the Albertina or the Hundertwasser-house, there are many Museums which are unknown to most people - even to the Viennese themselves.

Who knows the world's largest collection of magig boxes, the unique Museum of Mechitarist congregation, the Museum of Hats of the Emperor Franz Joseph, the Museum of Circuses, the Museum of Clowns, the Museum of burial, the Gardening Museum, the Museum of Schnaps, the Museum of „the third man" or the counterfeiter-museum?

The Exhibition „Wien einmal anders", arranged by the austrian photographer Barbara Zeidler, wants to change that with an unconventional view on the hidden und unknown treasures of Vienna and encourage for a vist.

pictures of the opening © Abbe Libansky

1863-2013/ 150 Years Austrian Hospice

Dear friends and guests of the Austrian Hospice
of the Holy Family in Jerusalem

This year - full of gratitude to the many pilgrims whom are privileged to house and care for - we celebrate the 150th anniversary of our opening:

On 19 March 1863 the hospice opened its doors!

Concerts, conferences, pilgrimages and church services will be some of the highlights that demonstrate the vitality of our house in 2013.

2013 also marks an important milestone for our future role in the Holy City.

Taking care of our guests and intercultural activities, which were the initial inspiration for the establishment of our house, should continue to be the focus of our work in future years.

We certainly have legitimate reason to be proud of our task of representing "Austria in the Orient"
in such an important place for humankind as Jerusalem.

 

 

 

The prelude to the 2013 Jubilee Year saw visits and church services
by two diocesan bishops Dr. Alois Schwarz of Gurk-Klagenfurt and
Dr Ägidius J. Zsifkovics of Eisenstadt
who stopped off at the hospice with their pilgrim groups.
We are grateful for this token of solidarity and support!

 

ELECTION of Archbishop Nurhan Manougian as the 97th Patriarch of his congregation

With the venerable Armenian-Apostolic Patriarchate of Jerusalem
we rejoice at the

ELECTION of Archbishop Nurhan Manougian as the 97th Patriarch of his congregation,

which includes the Israeli territories, the Westbank, Gaza and Jordan.

 

 

Patriarch Nurhan Manougian was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1948 and ordained in Jerusalem in 1971. His election by the cleric Brotherhood of the Cathedral of St. James is now awaiting - according to the regulations of the status quo - the recognition of the Israeli government and the Jordanian crown.

Our picture shows Kardinal Christoph Schönborn in a Conversation with Archbishop Nurhan on the occasion of the visit of the austrian Episcopal conference in Jerusalem in November of 2007.

 

 

In Search of the Lord God - a new exhibition about the history of the Austrian Hospice in Jerusalem

In Search of the Lord God a new exhibition about the history of the Austrian Hospice in Jerusalem

When is a pilgrim at his destination?
Least of all in his own abode. There he finds board, respite and counsel; the reasons for his journeying are, however, the holy places that he visits.

Since the establishment of the Austrian Hospice of the Holy Family in 1856, thousands of pilgrims have, as our Founding Father Archbishop Joseph Othmar von Rauscher puts it, found a 'home away from home' here for the duration of their stay. These pilgrims have numbered members of the aristocracy as well as scientists, artists and, most importantly, the 'simple believer'.

They all wanted to witness the places of the Bible with their own eyes and to follow in the footsteps of Christ.

The title of our exhibition, In Search of the Lord God, recalls Easter morning in Jerusalem when the faithful women and Jesus' disciples discovered the empty tomb.
In Search of the Lord God is also the name given to the processions which proceed along our lanes on Easter morning when we search for He who was resurrected.

The exhibition presents a decidedly small selection of well-known personages who were guests in the Austrian Hospice. The signatures are taken from our guest-books; texts and illustrative pictures are from our own archive or from a private source, or are freely accessible on the Internet. Some are taken from Dr Helmut Wohnout's book, "Das Österreichische Hospiz. Die Geschichte des Pilgerhauses an der Via Dolorosa".
(The Austrian Hospice. The History of the House of Pilgrimage on the Via Dolorosa.) Despite intensive searching we have been unable to clear all rights to pictures; we are happy to comply with justified claims.

The main burden of the exhibition was borne by Florian Schiemer who conscientiously deciphered and researched the names in the guest-books; he was assisted in this task by Anselm Becker and Günther Fuchs, Samuel Barwart and Johannes Safron, Philipp Nigitsch and Matthias Perkonigg, here for their civil service, who brought the work to its current - provisional - end.

In Search of the Lord God is first and foremost a testimony to the historical nature of our House, but also an indication that in our search and pilgrimage, we are not and have never been alone. In their search for truth and authenticity every individual is called upon to examine God's calling in their own life.