Melk Abbey was originally a palace crowned with towers and covered in a golden hue, on a hill at the entrance of the valley. In the 11th century Leopold III handed his castle to the Benedictine monks. They converted it into a fortified abbey and from then on the spiritual and intellectual renown of Melk spread throughout Austria. It is a massive, unified Baroque complex primarily functioning as one large building structure, though it houses 497 rooms and features 1,365 windows. It includes a church, library, and multiple wings organized around several courtyards, sitting on a 60-meter-high rock. The site also runs a high school for 900 students and includes two off-site farms. Our tour guide graduated from the high school this year and will be attending University in the fall. She did an excellent job.
View as we entered the Abbey courtyard.
Walkway into the abbey
Stairway entrance
Stairway entrance
Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures once we entered the stairway inside the courtyard, so I found one of the library online. This is also an aerial view of the abbey.
Its magnificent Baroque style architecture is known worldwide and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since 1089, the Benedictine monks have been living and working in Melk Abbey in uninterrupted tradition. There are currently 22 monks associated with the abbey.
Melk Abbey is famous for its richly decorated Baroque interiors, including the abbey church with frescoes and gilded details, the Imperial Rooms, and the historic library with thousands of medieval manuscripts and books. From the abbey terrace we could see panoramic views over the Danube and the Wachau landscape from under our umbrellas!
View from one of the outdoor walkways on our way to the library.
This is a picture from the internet of one of the libraries!
I was amazed when we went into the church. It is so beautiful. Our guide told us that they only used 11 pounds of melted gold to make the gold leaf for the entire church! Melk Abbey is also known for its apricot brandy. We did not buy any, but we are not brandy drinkers!
Soon it was time to head back to the ship. We had the option to WALK down the hill or ride the bus. We opted to ride the bus!
Back on the ship it was almost time for lunch which was a Bavarian lunch buffet. So far the food has been fantastic, but we were disappointed in the lunch. I'm not sure how to describe it, but not what we expected.
About 1pm we were were on our way to Dürnstein and the rain mostly stopped so we to the front of the ship to watch the scenery as our tour director gave commentary on the sights.
There were several parking areas for camper vans and tents along the river.
The hills are covered with vineyards.
This was our view as we came into Dürnstein. We hiked up through the town then on a trail to the castle ruins at the top of the hill where English King Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned.
This was the town with a view of the blue church with the castle at the top of the hill.
Dürnstein is a small town of just over 900 people best known for its grape growing, and historic character. Dürnstein was first officially recorded as a town in 1347, when it was granted legal status. The area has a longer history, with its castle constructed between 1140-1145 by the Kuenring family, and mentions of the region dating back to 1019. The famous Dürnstein Abbey was founded later, in 1410. In 1192 King Richard I of England was held captive by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, after a dispute during the Third Crusade. Richard the Lionheart had offended Leopold the Virtuous by casting down his standard from the walls at the Battle of Acre, and the duke suspected that King Richard ordered the murder of his cousin Conrad of Monferrat in Jerusalem. After his release in February 1194, Richard the Lionheart returned briefly to England to secure his throne, then spent his final years in Normandy fighting to regain lands seized by Philip II of France, dying in 1199 from a crossbow wound while besieging a castle.
The rain cleared off and we went into the town to start our hike to the castle ruins. Up and up and up we went! It's about a 1000 foot elevation gain in less than a mile, but we had beautiful views from the top.
We arrived back into the village and decided to check out some of the shops when the rain started again - fortunately not too hard.
The rain cleared off and we went into the town to start our hike to the castle ruins. Up and up and up we went! It's about a 1000 foot elevation gain in less than a mile, but we had beautiful views from the top.
We arrived back into the village and decided to check out some of the shops when the rain started again - fortunately not too hard.
We noticed lots of piles of grass and branches along the buildings and tried to figure out what they were for. Tomorrow is the Corpus Christi religious holiday so I will check out the significance and let you know.
One of the May Poles.
We made our way back to the ship and thought we would go check out the Blue Church but learned it closed at 5:00pm and it was 4:55. Needless to say, we didn't make it!
We're sail at 11:45pm tonight and tomorrow we have a day in Salzburg so we are heading to bed.
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