Melk Abbey – An Eminent Monastic Site
Melk Abbey is positioned above the aged town of Melk on a wobbly protrusion overlooking the River Danube in the lower part of Austria joining the Wachau Valley. This abbey was founded by Leopard II, the Margrave of Austria in 1089. He gave one of his fortresses to
Benedictine monks. A school was founded in the period of 12th centaury. This made the monastic library well-known for its collection of the manuscripts. The abbey also served as the place for the centre of the Melk Reform movement which led to a reinvigorated life of the monists that belonged to Austria and Southern Germany.
Due to the great fame and the academic stature, Melk Abbey coped to run off the dissolution under Emperor Joseph II. This was the time when most of the abbeys were either detained or dissolved. The place suffered a great damage at the time of Reformation and Turkish Invasion in 1683. But a wide spared attack by the Ottoman armies damaged the structure. The next injury to the structure was marked in 1947 by the fire. But today the place is completely stored.
The design of the present day abbey is basically the work of the well known architect Jakob Prandtauer. The Marble Hall consists of the pilasters which are coated in red and an allegorical work of art on the ceiling is a treat to eyes. This was painted by Paul Troger. The library is present on the second floor of the structure. It also has a Troger ceiling. This is an inestimable work with around 80000 volumes. Next part of the abbey is the Emperor’s gallery. The Emperor’s Gallery stretches for 198 m. It is decorated with elegant portraits of the Austrian Royalty.
The main part of the abbey is undoubtedly the church of abbey. The church has an astounding number of windows and is embroidered with the granite and frescoes by Johann Michael Rottrmayr with the assistance of Troger. The fine visions of the river can be seen from the terrace of the abbey. It is said that Napoleon used to enjoy the sights of the river from this place when he came for his battle against Austria.
The Abbey Restaurant situated quite close to the entrance of this place serves as the place of where the tourists can enjoy the hot meals as well as the monastery wine in gorgeous Baroque and the open-air surroundings.
A visit to this place is surely going to become the most memorable trip of your life.
