Melk Abbey

Upriver to Melk

The lock we're in is a large one, big enough for two ships side by side and two or three lined up behind one another. We're next to a bulk carrier.

Behind the bulk carrier is another tourist ship.

The bulk carrier, Boreas, has all the comforts of home, including a car perched on the roof of the cabin.

The skiff's name translates as "Little Boreas".

By breakfast time, we're traveling a very foggy and gloomy Danube.

Close to Melk, we passed this imposing structure perched on a cliff above the river.

As we neared our dock at Melk, we got a look at Melk Abbey (Stift Melk in German).

Melk Abbey

The view from the enormous Benedictine abbey, overlooking Melk itself.

Descending from where our bus dropped us to the level of the Abbey.

We passed through a series of enormous courtyards, eventually entering the building next to the church.

Statuary in the first courtyard.

 

The view into the next courtyard, and the next beyond that.

When you point a wide-angle lens up above the horizontal, it results in distortion — converging verticals — so try for something dramatic-looking. Actually, this building is rather dramatic-looking on its own.

The final courtyard; beyond this is the church.

Our guide said that these panels once had 18th century frescoes, but exposure to the elements had deteriorated them so badly that they could not be restored. Instead, modern works were commissioned to replace them.

Inside now, in a hallway lined with formal portraits.

Our guide, Hubert, explaining the paintings.

 

We passed through a series of display rooms with very dramatic lighting. This one was all blue; the next green.

"Hear"

Everything is very symbolic.

A beautiful cross in the green room.

 

A golden chalice.

A "relic monstrance": a container for a relic of a saint. The term "monstrance" was used for this in medieval times. The term is still in use, but no longer for display of relics.

A gold-plated copper incense boat from 1550.

A gilded statue in the corner of a room with mirrored walls.

Ancient sheet music.

A reusable coffin (reproduction). At the end of the graveside service, the handle opened the bottom and the deceased dropped into the grave. These were apparently used during the time of the plague, when burials were very frequent.

Our very informative guide.

This viewport through the Abbey's very thick wall is directed at a farm the Abbey owns just outside Melk.

Panels from an altar screen: applying the crown of thorns to Jesus' head, and Jesus' betrayal. The screen had many more such panels.

 

A chest with a very elaborate locking mechanism.

A scale model of the Abbey.

Looking out over the town of Melk.

The outside of the Abbey Church; we're about to go inside.

The baroque interior of the Abbey Church is stunning.

 

The very elaborate ceiling.

Looking up into the dome.

A special "box" for royalty, perhaps? Or an elaborate private chapel?

Part of the organ.

As we left, back to the mundane world: men repairing the roof.

From the Abbey, we went on a wine-tasting expedition.