Melk Abbey Museum

Melk Abbey Museum

THESIS STATEMENT

“Melk Abbey Museum gives the impression of a majestic wealth and the building survived due to its fame even after so many wars”.



INTRODUCTION

Melk owes its name to the river Medjilica and is mentioned for the first time in an official document in 831. After the wars of Charlemagne against the Avars, the eastern territories, including Melk part, were administered by a Count of the Marches. It is approximately at this time that they built a castle on the rock overlooking the Danube (Glanville, 2009).

The Melk Abbey is a famous Benedictine of Lower Austria. It is a part of the Benedictine Congregation of Austria. The place is located in the tourist region of Wachau , it overlooks the town of Melk and the Danube . As the symbol of the Wachau , it belongs to UNESCO's World Heritage . It has been described as "dominant and emblematic famous Baroque buildings. In addition, it houses the emblematic Melk, the oldest existing school in Austria. Abbot of the monastery is Georg Wilfinger. Although the abbey was founded in the eleventh century, the current buildings date from the Baroque era, they are the work of the architect Jakob Prandtauer. After his death in 1726, the work is completed according to his plans by his pupil Franz Munggenast (Fermor, 2005).

DISCUSSION

Architecture and Facilities

The Total Investment

The monastery is the largest monastery complex of the Austrian Baroque. The south wing, with its magnificent marble hall is about 240 meters long; the length of the major axis is a total of 320 meters (Snodin & Llewellyn, 2009).

Input system and east facades

Usually, visitors enter from the east building. The 1718 completed portal is flanked by two towers. The southern bastion is a fortification of 1650. For reasons of symmetry, the builder, Jacob Prandtauer erected the new building in a second bastion on the right side of the portal. Two statues, St. Leopold and St. Koloman, 1716 of the Viennese court sculptor Lorenzo Mattielli were designed as standing on either side of the front gate. The angels are also of Matielli that crown the roof of the portal (Wilkinson, 2012).

East facade

On crossing the portal, visitors enter Goalkeeper court, which is home to the left-hand reception and cashier area for tourists. The right is one of the two Babenberger towers, which are the remnants of an old fort (Fermor, 2005).

The visitors see straight the east facade, the luxurious reception side of the castle-like monastery. The small balcony above the archway of the abbots was used to welcome guests in earlier times. Right and left of the balcony with statues of the Apostles Peter and Paul, there is the patron saints of the abbey church. In addition to the theological interpretation of fame itself, there have these saying points to the greatest treasure of the monastery Melk Cross. Its enlarged reproduction is emblazoned on the top of the gable (Glanville, 2009).

Park and Restaurant

Opposite the portal, there is an entrance to another section of the facility, the Abbey Restaurant ...