Travel with Marilyn

Home  /  Home Page Slider  /  Melk Abbey is an Austrian Masterpiece

Melk Abbey is an Austrian Masterpiece

It is a rainy windswept day when I visit Melk Abbey, an AmaWaterways river cruise excursion in Austria. We meet our very young guide (who looks more like a teenager than the scholar tour guide she is) in a grand inner courtyard before entering the abbey proper.

It was Abbot Berthold Dietmayr and his architects Jakob Prandtauer and Joseph Munggenast who were the driving force behind building Melk Abbey in the early 18th century on the foundations of a medieval monastery. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the biggest and most beautiful Baroque enclaves in Europe. Built on a cliff overlooking the Danube, it is Austria’s most visited art-historical site.

Our guide explains as we entered a museum-like area that the motto of the Benedictine order is “pray, work, learn.” This motto is illustrated in room after room in an effective modern-art way. She tells us this is still an active abbey with 31 monks and that its primary income is from tourist visitation.  

Since 1089, Benedictine monks have continually lived and worked in Melk Abbey. Today the abbey also houses a secondary school.

About half way through the tour we exit out onto a large terrace where we have a grand view of the city of Melk and the Danube River before entering the abbey’s famous library.

The main library houses 16,000 volumes and is graced with a ceiling fresco by Paul Troger. A spiral staircase leads to another set of 12 library rooms containing more than 100,000 volumes, some of which are very valuable. Italian writer Umberto Eco drew inspiration from this site for his novel “The Name of the Rose” in which a monastic library plays a key role.

The most important space in the abbey is next on the tour — the church. When constructed, Baroque masters were commissioned including Antonio Beduzzi for interior design, Johann Michael Rottmayr and Paul Troger for the frescos and altarpieces, Guiseppe Galli-Bibiena for the pulpit and high altar, and Lorenzo Mattielli and Peter Widerin for sculptures.

Even if photos were allowed of the abbey’s interior, they couldn’t illustrate properly the wealth of history and art housed in the library and church.

After touring the abbey, I take the time to meander through the gardens before returning to the bus that would take me back to the AmaStella. AmaWaterways’ excursions focus on culture, tradition, history and beauty; just what a journey to Europe should be about.

For more articles on AmaWaterways, click here. 

Tags: AmaWaterways, Austria, Cruise, UNESCO
Previous Article
Next Article

About Author

marilynjones

Marilyn Jones, a journalist and photographer for more than 30 years, specializes in travel. Her articles and photographs have appeared in major newspapers including Dallas Morning News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Sun-Time and Columbus Dispatch. As well as major magazines including Elks Magazine, Alabama Living, Military Officer, Escapees, Texas Farm and Home, Illinois Country Living, Carolina Country and Renaissance Magazine.

Related Posts

  • Genealogy Inspired Travel

  • Bermuda Museum is filled with fascinating finds

  • Essaouira, Morocco is a seaside treasure

5 Comments

  1. minecraft apk free download
    August 20, 2017 at 7:12 am

    Simply desire to say your article is as surprising.
    The clarity in your post is just great and i can assume you
    are an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission let me to grab
    your RSS feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.
    Thanks a million and please keep up the rewarding
    work.

    • marilynjones
      August 20, 2017 at 2:40 pm

      Thank you so much! Melk Abbey was amazing!

  2. norton antivirus help
    August 28, 2017 at 12:54 pm

    Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers
    and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche.
    Your blog provided us beneficial information to work on.
    You have done a outstanding job!

    • marilynjones
      August 28, 2017 at 12:58 pm

      Thank you so much!!

  3. cours de theatre paris
    September 30, 2017 at 9:26 am

    Enjoyed every bit of your post.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.