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Aerial view of Gottweig Abbey today
The abbey was established as a Benedictine monastery in 1083 by the Bishop of Passau and hasn't always been this big or splendorous. Göttweig became a famous seat of learning and strict monastic observance. A monastic school, organized a library, and at the foot of the hill built a nunnery were established and is where it is believed that Ava, the earliest German language woman poet known by name (d. 1127), lived as an anchorite. The nunnery, which was afterwards transferred to the top of the hill, continued to exist until 1557. The library remains despite a devastating fire and contains documents on parchment dating back to the 5th century. During the 15th and 16th centuries, however, the abbey declined to such an extent that between 1556 and 1564 it had no abbot at all, and in 1564 not a single monk remained. At this crisis, an imperial deputation arrived at Göttweig and elected Michael Herrlich, a monk of Melk Abbey, as abbot. The new abbot, who held his office until 1603, restored the monastery spiritually and financially, and rebuilt it after it had been almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1580.
Shelley enjoys a look down into the Wachau Valley
What she is looking at
One of 30 parishes attended to by the monks who also tend vineyards and the forest. The forest is now the greatest source of income
It's on the Camino Santiago de Compostelo...only 3000km away. See the shell on the middle sign.
The cathedral
The ceiling of the Hapsburg quarters painted in 45 days by Paul Troger in 1793. It contains non-Biblical mythological references and King Charles is riding a chariot in the center as if to say, "Well, I am God here, and you have to accept what I say!"
This black flag was flying on our arrival. The guide said it wasn't a tribute to Henry Rollins and his musical talents, but that a monk had died either last night or today. He said the oldest monk was 86 and the youngest 24. They only fly this flag when someone dies. There are only a few monks living here now and the number has vacillated over the years from 0 to 80.
We got to sample some of their apricots in this dumpling. Shelley and Claudia said it "rang all our Southern bells"
Close up!
The chef who taught the class. Lots more ingredients than I expected. They gave us a printed copy of the recipe.
We saw almost none of Krems on this brief stop along the Danube except for a walk on the river bank. Not very amazingly, we found gelato. Paul found the internet.
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