Day 11: Melk
Cathedral and Abbey.
This
morning we packed the bikes on trucks and were driven into the countryside to
an old castle about an hour’s drive west
of Vienna. From here, we set off for
Melk Abbey. Melk has been a spiritual and cultural center of Austria for more
than 1000 years, first as a castle for the Babenbergs, then from 1089 as a
Benedictine monastery, founded by Margrave Leopold II.
Since the 12th century a school has been connected with the monastery, and valuable manuscripts have been collected and created in the library. They recently sold one excellent condition Guttenberg Bible to Yale University to help pay for renovations at the abbey. They have several additional copies, though not in as fine as the one that now resides at Yale.
Since the 12th century a school has been connected with the monastery, and valuable manuscripts have been collected and created in the library. They recently sold one excellent condition Guttenberg Bible to Yale University to help pay for renovations at the abbey. They have several additional copies, though not in as fine as the one that now resides at Yale.
The monastery is a working monastery, and it
includes a Benedictine Order, a school
with about For
over 900 years monks have continued in the tradition of St. Benedict without
interruption in the fields of parish life (23 parishes belong to the
monastery), school (secondary school with ca. 800 pupils), economy, culture,
and tourism.
Since its beginnings Melk has been an important intellectual and spiritual center of the country.
Since its beginnings Melk has been an important intellectual and spiritual center of the country.
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