Impressions of Austria
We can't have it all at once: surely, not all Austria is covered in this report. Not yet, that is. For the time being our focus is on 'Niederösterreich', Lower Austria, where the Wachau Valley guides the River Danube in gracious meanders towards Vienna. Quaint little towns like Krems dot the banks of the mighty river, while the magnificent Baroque abbey of Melk is somehow an introduction, a teaser for what is waiting for us to be admired in awe in Vienna. Vienna, Wien, today the capital of an average-sized Central European country, wedged between the Danube and the Alps, in earlier days the capital of what was one of the most powerful empires deciding over the course of events in Europe for many centuries. From Vienna the Habsburg dynasty ruled over Central Europe, the Adriatic basin, large chunks of the Balkans and even the Lower Countries. The First World War brought it all to a rather abrupt end, but Vienna still carries the marks of its glorious past in its grand architecture, in its natural flair and clout, in its extraordinary devotion to classical music, in its strong, proud and dignified identity, celebrating the eternal vibrations of the grandeur of yesteryear. At the same time, Vienna is not just a city cherishing its past, it is also a city of the present, lively, inventive, joyful and sparkling. Or how would you otherwise describe the unique Christmas atmosphere at the foot of the Stephansdom's Steffel or the spirited Wiener coffee house culture in Café Central and the like at so many Viennese street corners?
Before visiting the place of your choice:
The abbey of Melk dominates from a high rock over the medieval village of the same name and over the banks of the Danube River. Melk is some 80 kilometres west of Vienna and is considered as the western edge of the Wachau Valley around the Danube. Melk Abbey was founded in 1089 by Benedictine monks and by the 12th century it had already acquired a solid reputation as a monastic school. Melk thus became a real centre of Enlightenment. Thanks to this reputation, Joseph II who ruled over Habsburg Austria in the 1780s and 1790s exceptionally did not dissolve the monastic community of Melk. The Baroque buildings date from the early 18th century and are surrounded by a landscaped garden to which a Pavilion building was added in 1748. The abbey’s buildings proper are accessed via a large Prelate’s Courtyard, itself already quite imposing for its Baroque decoration over window frames and portals. Behind the courtyard are the Prelate Library and the church, the abbey’s two most important architectural jewels.
