Melk Abbey and Durnstein

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Melk and Durnstein are located at opposite ends of the Wachau Valley along the Danube. The main attraction of Melk is a huge castle which was deeded to the Benedictine monks 800 years ago when the Prince Bishop of the area decided to move to Vienna. The abbey is enormous and hosted Maria Theresa, Queen of Austria-Hungary three times during her reign (she traveled with over 200 people from her court wherever she went). It is currently the main tourist attraction of the area; it has a school with 900 middle to high school kids; and has 24 monks ranging in age from 31 to 94. The long term prospects for the order in itself are poor since they have not gotten any recruits for over a decade. The bet is that when all the monks are gone, the church will take it over and the monastery will be no more.

The Abbey was renovated (rebuilt is probably a better description) in the 18th century in the baroque style and it is beautiful inside and out. It has a sumptuous look which belies the fact that most of the gold and silver work inside is wood or plaster painted to look like solid metal. It is also known for its library.

After this visit, the ship proceeded to the other end of the valley allowing us our first day on the Sun Deck in a week. Alas, by the time we got to Durstein, the sky clouded over and we had some rain. We called it a day and did not visit the town.

Tomorrow, the first of two days in Vienna.

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