Melk Abbey and the Wachau
★ 4.8🇦🇹 MelkSuggested visit 1 dayBest season May to October, when the valley and cruises are running
World HeritageReligious siteVineyards
A Baroque abbey above the Danube, inscribed with the Wachau valley vineyards as a World Heritage landscape.
Overview
Built between 1702 and 1736 on a rock above the Danube, Melk Abbey is one of the most spectacular Baroque buildings in Austria. Its marble hall, library and church are lavishly decorated, and the library holds some 100,000 early volumes. The Wachau valley around it is the loveliest stretch of the Danube, lined with terraced vineyards and castle ruins, and was inscribed as a World Heritage landscape in 2000.
History
Benedictines founded a monastery here in 1089 and the present Baroque buildings date from an 18th-century rebuild; the Wachau was inscribed in 2000 for its intact medieval landscape.
Highlights
- •The abbey library
- •The Baroque church and marble hall
- •The Wachau vineyards
- •Danube cruises and Dürnstein
Practical tips
- •The abbey is visited on a guided tour — check times
- •Pairing with a Danube cruise is both easy and scenic
Practical information
- Best time
- May-October
- Tickets
- Abbey about EUR 14; cruises separate
- Opening hours
- 9:00-17:30 (shorter in winter)
- Local food
- Wachau white wine, apricot jam, Austrian pastries
- Getting around
- About an hour by train from Vienna to Melk.
- Visa
- A Schengen visa is required; apply about one month in advance.
Traveller reviews
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