Rein Abbey

Rein Abbey at Gratwein-Straßengel, north of Graz, is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1129 and remains an active religious community. According to the abbey’s official history, Margrave Leopold the Strong invited monks from Ebrach to establish the monastery. Rein describes itself as the world’s oldest continuously existing Cistercian monastery, a claim that refers to the continuity of the community rather than to every part of the present building being medieval.

The complex has changed repeatedly over almost nine centuries, and later rebuilding—especially Baroque work—substantially reshaped its architectural appearance. For Templestan, the abbey’s significance lies in that long institutional continuity and in its role as a place of Cistercian prayer, the Divine Office and Mass.

It does not depend on a miracle, apparition or healing story. The monastery is also historically connected with the medieval nobility of Styria and preserves important religious and artistic heritage, but it is still first of all a functioning monastery. Visitors should therefore distinguish public or guided areas from spaces belonging to the cloistered and liturgical life of the community, and should check the abbey’s current information for tours, services and access.