Austria’s Admont Abbey – A Sanctuary of Art and History
The Benedictine monastery called Admont Abbey was built on the banks of the the Enns River that runs through Admont in Austria. The building itself is almost 1000 years old, since it was built in 1074, but the amazing monastic library that dwells within was created in 1776 at the request of Abbot Matthäus Offner. The creator of the library was Graz Master Builder Josef Hueber, who divided it into 3 parts.
As a meeting place between knowledge and art, the monastery was adorned with 7 frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonte. Moreover, the building itself is famous for its extraordinary Baroque architectural elements and for its magnificent sculptures signed by skilled Baroque sculptor named Josef Stammel. One of the most impressive sculptures is called “The Four Last Things”, and it depicts 4 of the most controversial notions in history: Heaven, Hell, The Last Judgement and Death. The 7 frescoes we mentioned before are equally impressive, mainly because they represent humankind’s evolution from thinking to speaking to scientific advancement and all the way to the acknowledgement of the Divine, which is the centerpiece of the main cupola.
But since we’re talking about a library after all, we should also mention the 200,000 volumes housed within the library. These include 530 books that were printed in 1500 as well as 1400 manuscripts, some dating back all the way to the 8th century.
If you would like to visit one of the most incredible landmarks in Austria, then you’ll be glad to know that you can do so each year between March 24 and December 31.