MELK
On a striking rocky bluff above the town of Melk is the enormous Benedictine Abbey. This extraordinary building was originally a castle that was subsequently bequeathed to the Benedictine order during the 11th century and has been a monastery ever since. Reconstructed in full Baroque style during the 18th century, the Abbey has many fine rooms and a stupendous library with 100,000 priceless volumes, including some intricate illuminated manuscripts. We didn’t enter the abbey but instead wandered around the village below.
