Passau

Passau, Bavarian town situated at the border between Austria and Germany. Bishopric since 731, in 739 it was included in the diocesan structure founded by St. Boniface. Under Pilgrim I this bishopric derived its traditions from the Roman Lauriacum. From the 9^th century it played a major part in the Christianisation of the Danube area in Austria and in organising parishes there. The patronage of St. Stephen for many Austrian churches indicates that they were subjects of the Passau bishopric.

The bishopric of Passau had vast properties (in the Middle Ages it possessed the towns Eferding, Amstetten, Mautern, St. Pölten etc.) and numerous monasteries under Passau's jurisdiction in Austria. The bishopric included what is today Upper Austria (now diocese of Linz) and Lower Austria (now the dioceses of St. Pölten and Vienna, not including Wiener Neustadt). In 1469 the small dioceses of Vienna and Wiener Neustadt were founded, while the Bishop of Passau was represented in Vienna by an assigned vicar and vicar-general. Between 1783-1785 Passau's dioceses in Austria were dissolved under the provisions of the monastic reforms introduced by Joseph II.

Literature: A. Maidhof, Passauer Urbare, 3 vols., 1933-1939; Staat und Kirche in Österreich von der Antike bis Joseph II, exhibition catalogue, St. Pölten 1985; H. Schragl, Geschichte der Diözese St. Pölten, 1985.