Melk

A cradle of culture

Despite being no larger than a market town, Melk is the indisputable “capital of Baroque”. Its UNESCO World Heritage abbey, planned by the Austrian architect Jakob Prandtauer 200 years ago, dominates the town centre. Benedictine monks still live and dedicate their work to culture and education in the abbey’s renowned school. The abbey church is a masterpiece of High Baroque architecture, while its park in quintessential English landscape garden style is an ideal spot for a relaxing stroll.

The area around Melk Abbey also has an active cultural and creative scene, hosting the annual International Baroque Days in May, the Melk Sommerspiele festival, the “Wachau in Echtzeit” cultural festival in autumn, and smaller-scale performances in the “Tischlerei” venue throughout the year.

Did you know?

The area around Melk was settled earlier than the ancient city of Carthage.  Traces of permanent human activity on the plateau, where the Pielach river enters the Danube, date back to the Middle Neolithic Period over 6,000 years ago. Under Roman rule, Melk possessed one of the “burgi” of the Roman limes along the Danube.