1884
The stained glass studio was founded 1884 by the Grossmann Family in Linz, a town in Upper Austria. In 1915, Josef Raukamp – a skilled glass painter from the Rhineland region – acquired the glass shop. 1919, his brother Wilhelm who had lost his wife, left his glass painting shop in Berlin and joined Josef in Linz. The collaboration of the two brothers was interrupted in 1926, when Wilhelm decided to enter the Cistercian Monastery in Schlierbach and became Father Petrus. However, they stayed in contact and during World War II Father Petrus safeguarded the entire stock of precious antique stained glass in the walls of the Monastery to protect them from the bombings in Linz.
1954
Eventually the Monastery Schlierbach purchased the stained glass studio in 1954. Thus, Josef Raukamp who had no heirs was assured that his lifetime endeavor in stained glass would continue. Josef Raukamp died in 1960. Under the guidance of Father Petrus and Father Tecelin Kummer, the studio achieved great reputation as a center of Sacred Art & Crafts. This reputation attracted many renowned Austrian artists like: Margret Bilger, Rudolf Kolbitsch. Lydia Roppolt, Josef Mikl, Hans Plank, Rudolf Szyskowitz, Franz Weiss, Erika Wolf, Georg Meistermann and many others who appreciated the collaboration. The requests for stained glass windows from Schlierbach came from all over the world: The Annunciation Basilica in Nazareth received stained glass windows designed by Lydia Roppolt and executed in Schlierbach. The Memorial Church in Hiroshima has a stained glass window created by Josef Mikl.
1975
The sometimes delicate and sensitive collaboration with artists led to a wealth of experience, which still benefits the present studio. In 1975, Father Alfred Strigl became the director and CEO of the Company. The saying “can’t do it” Father Alfred would not accept. This way the studio evolved from a traditional stained glass and restoration workshop into a modern creative glass studio using fused glass, thermoforming and float glass painting.
1995
In 1995, the glassworks studio received the coveted „Upper Austrian Government Award for Arts & Crafts“.
In 1997, the Schlierbach glass studio acquired the historic stained glass studio Geyling, founded in Vienna in 1884.
The Schlierbach Monastery also owns an art gallery available for exhibitions to all artists and in cooperation with the Margret-Bilger-Foundation, the Department of Culture of the provincial Government and with the Institute for Theory of Art and Aesthetics of the College of Theology in Linz, each artist has the opportunity to present his/her creations to the general public.
2021
The stained glass studio of the Monastery Schlierbach is a modern creative enterprise with traditional roots. It is just as renowned for its innovative long-term orientation as it is for its artistically designed stained, fused and art glass products. It is a matter of particular concern for us to support young people’s education and their self-improvement.
Our studio provides new forms and ways of artistic expressions for the contemporary glass artists and is a center for freelance artists.