Munggenast, Joseph

Munggenast, Joseph (1680–1741). Tyrol-born architect, he worked under Prandtauer (his kinsman), and completed Stift (Abbey) Melk Abbey on the Danube, including the graceful upper parts of the western towers (1738), as well as other projects, including the monastic buildings at Herzogenburg and St Pölten. With Matthias Steinl or Steindl (1644–1727), he worked on the tower of Zwettl Abbey-Church (begun 1722) and on the lovely Augustinian Church at Dürnstein (begun 1718), which has the most handsome Baroque tower (1721–7) in all Austria. On his own he worked on the monastic buildings at Seitenstetten (from 1718), and reconstructed Stift (Abbey) Altenburg, Upper Austria (from 1730), casing the medieval Church in a sumptuous Baroque crust, and creating one of the most felicitous libraries of the period (influenced by Fisher von Erlach's Hofbibliothek, Vienna (completed 1730) ). He also prepared designs for Wilhering Abbey Church (from 1733), the Klosterkirche, Maria Langegg (c.1733), extensions to Geras Abbey (1736–40), rebuilding the Abbey and Church at Mondsee (1736–8), and a new Church at Siebenlinden (1740). One of the leading architects in Lower Austria outside Vienna in the first half of C18, his sons Franz (1724–48) and Matthias (1729–98) carried on his practice there.

Bibliography

Bourke (1962);
Brucker (1983);
E. Hempel (1965);
Karl (ed.) (1991);
Mungenast (1963);
C. Powell (1959);
Jane Turner (1996)