Seminary of Vienna


The Archiepiscopal Seminary of Vienna, commonly referred to in German as the Wiener Priesterseminar, is a Roman Catholic major seminary that serves as the seminary of the Archdiocese of Vienna. Founded in 1758 by the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Anton Migazzi, the seminary moved to its current building, the Haus Boltzmanngasse, in 1914. Today, the rector is Rev. Richard Tatzreiter and enrollment is 35.

History

The Archiepiscopal Seminary of Vienna was founded in 1758 by Count Christoph Anton Migazzi, the Archbishop of Vienna, as the main seminary for the training of priests for the Archdiocese of Vienna. For many years, it was located in the Curhaus in Stephansplatz, the same square in Vienna where St. Stephen's Cathedral is located. The building was expanded in 1805 during the reign of Archbishop Sigismund Anton von Hohenwart in order to accommodate more seminarians. By 1912, the seminary had grown to 112 seminarians.
During the reign of Cardinal Franz Xaver Nagl, the Haus Boltzmanngasse, a former hospital and later orphanage in the Alsergrund district of Vienna, was restored and expanded. The new archbishop, Friedrich Gustav Piffl, made the decision to move the seminary from Curhaus to Boltzmanngasse. The seminary made the move in the summer of 1914, and has remained in the new building ever since.
Beginning with the 2012–2013 academic year, seminarians from the Burgenländisches Seminary and St. Pölten Seminary will be living and studying in the Seminary of Vienna facilities. In 2014, the seminary had 35 seminarians.

Administration and organization

Rev. Richard Tatzreiter is the seminary rector, and Rev. Markus Muth is vice rector. Rev. Michael Meßner, SJ, is the spiritual director, and Michael Sipka is the librarian.

Student life

Student body

In 2014, there were 35 seminarians at the Seminary of Vienna. However, ins addition to this, there are a number of other seminarians from the Burgenländisches Seminary and St. Pölten Seminary, which are now located in the same building.

Notable people

Alumni