Jakob Prandtauer designed the Sift Melk over the Danube river in Melk, Austria, completted in 1736. The abbey was originally converted from a castle to a Benedictine monastery school in 1089 under Leopold II. The hilltop is a strong defensive position and an important strategic location to the west of Vienna. Napoleon used the site as his headquarters in his 1805 campaign against Austria.
The site is wedge-shaped, with a wide opening from the city and the main church at the end pointing toward the river. The repetitive gold and white walls stand 150 ft above the Danube. Prandtauer was a Typrolean sculptor, and his rich Baroque style is quite evident. Joseph Munggenast worked on the upper parts of the western towers under Prandtauer. Benedictine churches forsook the simplicity of typical Cistercian architecture under Abbot Suger and embraced the grandeur of light to rise from material to immaterial.
Interior Info & Images Of Melk Abbey
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