Donatus

Saint Donatus of Arezzo (300-362) was born in Rome and died as a martyr in Arezzo (Tuscany) under Emperor Julian Apostata. The name means "The Gifted One", his day of commemoration is 7 August. He lost his parents in a persecution of Christians and was taken in by the bishop of Arezzo, ordained lector, deacon and priest, and after the bishop's death became bishop of Arezzo himself. He is said to have performed numerous miracles, for example overpowering a dragon that poisoned the well and miraculously reassembling a broken chalice.

Donatus - zwei Heiligenbilder

In 1716, the Hungarian bishop of Eger consecrated the statue of Saint Donatus and asked him to protect the vineyards of the region. According to legend, since then the high quality of the wines of the Eger wine region has been due to the saint's protection, for example of the famous red wine Eger Bull's Blood (Hungarian: Egri Bikavér). Donatus is the wine saint or patron saint of the Eger winegrowers, but is also venerated in the Austrian Burgenland. Traditionally, a festival is held annually in the second week of July, Friday to Sunday, at which, among other things, the wines of the Eger wine-growing region are presented. On this topic, see also wine-growing customs and wine gods.

Picture left: By ncartmuseum, Public domain, Link
Picture right: Heiligenlexikon

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Donatus

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