Founded in 1133, Abtei Heiligenkreuz is the oldest Cistercian monastery in the world to be occupied without interruption. Located abut 25 miles south of Vienna, this abbey was also the founder of several other Cistercian abbeys in central Europe. Among these are Stift Zwettl and Stift Lilienfeld, both with collections that were also microfilmed by HMML. Between September 11, 1966, and October 10, 1966, Father Oliver Kapsner, OSB, and his filming crew photographed nearly 400 manuscripts (dated 10th century-17th century).

The collection includes many manuscripts from the 12th through the 14th centuries, when the scriptorium at Heiligenkreuz was particularly active. The library’s holdings represent a broad palette of monastic books, including several Bibles, commentaries, liturgical books, and sermon collections, as well as medical and scientific works. View now