St. Florian

How quickly time flies in beautiful “Hoamatland”

Governor Thomas Stelzer (right), Liu Jia, table tennis legend with former Deputy Governor Franz Hiesl(Bild: Dostal Harald)

Exactly 20 years ago, St. Florian was appointed patron saint of the province; the anniversary was celebrated at St. Florian's Abbey with a lavish provincial reception. Beforehand, a handful of "climate stickers" marched in front of the monastery, but the ceremony remained unaffected.

Sticking together and celebrating together - you can't have one without the other! That is why Saint Florian, who has been "officiating" as the patron saint of the province for 20 years, was honored at the provincial reception on Friday evening at St. Florian Abbey.

Reason enough for hundreds of guests of honor to come to the monastery, even a handful of "climate stickers" paid their respects with banners, but only on the street outside.

The Marble Hall was filled to the very last seat(Bild: Dostal Harald)

Emergency helper, patron saint and more
The festive program began in the Marble Hall of the monastery: "St. Florian - a role model that is lived everywhere where people are there for each other," emphasized Governor Thomas Stelzer in his speech. "A patron saint of the fire department - I've always had a lot to do with the fire department," said former Deputy Governor Franz Hiesl.

Bruckner and the electric guitar
Singer Alois Mühlbacher sees music as the "emergency helper", and composer Severin Trogbacher picked up an electric guitar to delight the guests with modern Bruckner sounds.

Actress Katharina Hofmann from the Landestheater, Markus Stumpner, four St. Florian Boys' Choir members(Bild: Dostal Harald)

Markus Stumpner led the St. Florian Boys' Choir through Bruckner's "Locus Iste" and the national anthem. "When St. Florian became patron saint, I was still a choirboy myself," he recalls sentimentally. "How time flies!" Other guests included tourism boss Andreas Winkelhofer, Hypo board member Klaus Kumpfmüller and Manuela Reichert from the Capital of Culture. Bishop Manfred Scheuer was also in attendance.