Description of the attraction
The Abbey of Admont is a Benedictine monastery on the River Enns in the town of Admont and is considered the oldest monastery in Styria. The abbey is famous for its largest monastery library in the world.
Admont Abbey was founded in 1074 by Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg. The monastery flourished in the Middle Ages, Abbot Engelbert (1297-1327) was a renowned scientist and author of many scientific works. Since its inception, Admont Abbey has become not only a religious center, but also an educational one. The monks were especially strong in the natural sciences and history.
In 1774, the architect Josef Huber built a new library hall (70 meters long, 14 meters wide, and 13 meters high). About 200 thousand books moved to the new hall, among which there were more than 1000 rare manuscripts of the Middle Ages, rare ornaments and engravings.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the abbey reached its highest point of artistic success thanks to the works of the world famous church embroiderer Brother Benno Khan and the sculptor Joseph Stammel (1695-1765).
On April 27, 1865, a fire destroyed almost the entire monastery. While the monastic archives were burned, the library was saved. Reconstruction began the following year and was not yet fully completed by 1890.
The economic crises of the 1930s forced the abbey to sell many of its artistic treasures, during the period of the National Socialist government the monastery was dissolved and the monks were evicted. The monks were able to return in 1946 and today the monastery is once again a thriving Benedictine community.
