The Melk Benedictine Abbey in the town of Melk, Austria, is one of the most fantastic monastic sites in the world. It is actually located on a hill above Melk and also looks out over the Danube River and Wachau Valley; both of which are famous natural Austrian sites.
In 1089, Leopold II gave one of his castles to the Benedictine monks from the area for them to live in and pray all together. In the 12th century the monks made it into a school, and then a library, and this was also one of the places in Europe that produced manuscripts for the rest of the world. The Melk Reform movement also took place here in the 15th century when the monks of Austria and Southern Germany fought for a better life for themselves.
This current abbey that can be seen here was built between 1702 and 1736 and is built in the Baroque style of architecture. ... continue below the picture...
... When Emperor Joseph II decided to seize and dissolve the monasteries in Austria during the late 1700s, this monastery escaped that threat because it was famous even then. It was also taken over in the Second World War, but was given back after.
It now houses part of a school for over 900 students, and is protected by the World Heritage Program as a site that is important for all of humanity.
Melk Benedictine Abbey, Stift Melk, Monastery, Melk, Austria, Europe. UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Technical Information:
I photographed this photo with the digital SLR camera model Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, aperture of f/6.3, exposure time of 1/250 sec. on ISO 100, as always I used a original Canon Lens, the focus lenght for this picture was 28mm.