Abbey Road II
St. Florian Monastery, Kremsmünster Abbey
I’ve visited my fair share of Austrian monasteries at this stage. Although they can appear to be quite similar, I’ve realised that each one is unique in its own way. So I was curious what would await us when the Oldies popped by St. Florian Monastery.
Sure enough, the stunning baroque architecture, grand staircases, opulent state rooms, magnificent basilica and beautiful grounds were what I’d come to expect. But after the Oldies overdosed on the stinky cheese of Schlierbach Abbey, St. Florian Monastery was music to my ears. Not only does it have a long tradition of its own boys choir – and I mean long: over 950 years to be exact – one of its most famous choirboys, the composer Anton Bruckner, was the organist here for a number of years. He even asked to be buried under the organ. Now that’s dedication to your art!
Kremsmünster Abbey caught the Oldies’ eye when – par for the course – they happened to drive past one day when they’d got lost. I’m not surprised it caught their eye. It’s huge! But it was the adjacent eight storey building that had them totally intrigued. When Mr Google later told them it was an 18th century observatory, they decided it was definitely worth a visit. And it definitely was.
A few days later, the Wingless Wonders were mounting the stairs of the Sternwarte, the Mathematical Tower/Observatory. No photography was allowed, which is just as well. His Lordship would probably still be there! Although it is no longer used as an observatory, it is still a weather station. Every earthquake that has occurred since 1895 has been recorded here. Even more amazing, weather records have been kept here continuously since 1762. Believe me, you only have to take one glance at the data to realise that global warming really is happening!
On the first few floors there were fascinating collections of fossils and minerals and astronomy and other scientific instruments. Apparently, if the monks couldn’t find the apparatus they needed for their lessons in the abbey school they made them themselves. Clever guys!
The natural history section was worthy of a museum in its own right. I was particularly taken with the extensive collection of humming birds. I couldn’t believe there were so many different varieties of these pretty little creatures. The collection of Blaschke glass models of marine invertebrates was incredibly realistic. But it was torture for me. Those jellyfish and squid looked much too yummy!
Luckily we soon had a most satisfactory repast in the Stiftskeller, followed by a visit to the wine celler. ‘Höchste Weintradition seit 777’ – when I saw this, I thought there must be a digit missing, but it’s really true. Wine has been made by the Kremsmünster monks for more than 1,200 years. Wow, that’s what I call vintage wine! After the fresh food and old wine, the Dynamic Duo felt up for the full tour of the monastery itself too. We certainly got into the parts that you otherwise don’t reach.
Boy, did those monks have a thing about collecting. No wonder so many of their collections had to be moved to the Sternwarte. The monastery itself is chock full of paintings and artwork, some of it very valuable. I think I even spotted a Bruegel in there…
… and that’s before you even reach the treasury. Along with the Codex Millenarius and other priceless items, the world-famous Tassilo Chalice is on display here. Her Ladyship remarked how much it reminded her of the Ardagh Chalice and sure enough, it turns out that both chalices were made around the same time – in the 8th century. But unlike the Irish one, the Tassilo Chalice has been in the abbey since it was made, and it is still used to this day on special occasions.
The abbey library is quite something. This was definitely a ‘man’s library’, unlike the one in Schlierbach Abbey. It’s huge! I particularly liked its secret door: you press a particular book and a whole section of the bookcase swings open, just like in the movies!
There were some fascinating books on display too, like this travelling book that doubles up as a weapon. The idea being that you swing it inside its bag and whack an attacker on the head with it. I hope it was full of hard facts!
I also loved this cartoon-style book of stories from the bible which was aimed at the not-so-literate monks. It seems that the French and Belgians were far from the first to come up with the idea of the comic book.
Yes, Kremsmünster Abbey was a different kettle of fish altogether. In fact, the highlight here for me was the Fischkalter. This is basically a beautiful baroque courtyard dating from 17th century with several large, well-stocked fishponds fed by stylish fountains.
Wow, what a fantastic idea. Apparently it’s unique, but in my opinion every home should have one!
