Niederolang

The regional Parish Church “hl Apostel Petrus to hl Agnes“ [Apostle St. Peter to St Agnes] at Olang has been an incorporated parish of the “Augustiner Chorherren” [Ordo Canonicorum Regularium Sancti Augustini] at Neustift without interruption since 1369. The origins of the Olang Parish Library have been proved to be in the early 16th century. A total of 32 works from this period still exist. The oldest work in the collection is a ciquecentina which was printed by the publisher Knobloch, Strasbourg in 1526 with the title Concordantiae Maiores Sacrae Bibliae and was compiled by Konrad of Halberstadt. The second oldest Tyrolean work is De Sacerdotum Vita Instituenda Libellus by Johannes Trithemius printed by Faetius in 1577. Donatus Faetius was the fist book printer in Brixen and was, at the same time, a member of the cathedral chapter. In Himmlischen Liebs-Bund [Schuechegger, Brixen 1733] the reader finds an image of the Parish Church at Lower Olang – a booklet by the “Armenseelen Bruderschaft” [Poor Souls Brotherhood] in Lower Olang.
The quantity of books in the collection grew continually throughout the 17th and 18th centuries above all through the work of Parish Priest Leopold Wallnöfer and the “Chorherren”. In total the historical parish library Lower Olang consists of 3,300 works. The emphasis is placed on the areas of theology, fiction and the natural sciences. This substantial library is housed in the prelate tract of the parish building – these rooms were renovated in 2005/6 with the financial support of the Stiftung Südtiroler Sparkasse [South Tyrolean Savings Bank Foundation]. The collection was index by the staff of the EHB in 2005 whereby the works were rearranged according to subject.