The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Florian, Saint

FLORIAN, Saint, a German martyr, born at Zeiselmauer, Lower Austria, about the year 190, served as a captain in the Roman army, and was drowned for his adherence to Christianity, near Lorch on the Enns, in 230. According to a legend, he presented himself immediately after his death to a pious woman, whom he requested to bury his remains on the site of the present Augustinian monastery near the village of St. Florian, in the vicinity of Linz. His bones were sent to Rome, and in 1183 to Poland, of which country he became the patron saint. His anniversary is celebrated Aug. 4; and on account of the emblems by which he is represented, his protection is often invoked against conflagrations. The monastery of St. Florian, said to have been founded in 455 by St. Severin, contains a magnificent church, organ, and bell, a library of 40,000 volumes, a numismatic and other collections, and a pleasant garden and horticultural school. The adjoining Tilly castle has belonged to it since 1636.