Description
One place.a thousand stories
Just outside Vienna, between the Danube and the vineyards, rises Stift Klosterneuburg Abbey. History has been written here for over 900 years and it is still an important religious, social and cultural center today. The Augustinian canons have lived and worked here since the foundation of the monastery. At times it also served as a residence for the Babenberg and Habsburg dynasties. Stift Klosterneuburg is also home to the oldest continuously operated winery in Austria. The monastery thus combines spiritual life, cultural heritage and economic tradition in a very special way.
A visit to Stift Klosterneuburg begins in the Sala terrena, the unfinished garden hall with the monumental atlases by Lorenzo Mattielli. From here, the path leads to the treasury, where the Austrian archducal hat is kept, among other things. Between May and November, an annually changing exhibition completes the offer. Afterwards, the Marble Hall opens up a wide view over the Danube and the surrounding countryside. The Abbey Museum is open to the public at selected times and provides a deeper insight into history.
With the Great Abbey Tour or a wine cellar tour, Stift Klosterneuburg Abbey can be discovered in all its facets - as a historical place, living monastery and traditional winery.
Abbey tour - highlights:
- Baroque imperial apartments
- Baroque collegiate church
- Early baroque festival organ (1642)
- Medieval cloister
- Seven-armed candlestick of Agnes (12th century)
- Verdun Altar (12th century)
Wine cellar tour - highlights
- Press house (former choir church from the 14th century)
- Fermenting cellar
- Baroque wine cellar
- Atmospheric light installations
- Wine tasting
Gardens of the centuries
As soon as you enter Stift Klosterneuburg Abbey through the Sala terrena, the view of the abbey's diverse garden landscape opens up. The modern pond garden, in which thousands of flowers and grasses are arranged into a biblically inspired "lily of the field", forms the prelude. A deliberate contrast to this is the convent garden, which was laid out in the 19th century in the English style on what was then the banks of the Danube. It served the canons as a place to relax and today is home to one of the largest ginkgo trees in Austria, the neoclassical orangery by Joseph Kornhäusel and a fountain.
At the center of the historic monastery complex is the Kreuzgarten, which has been revitalized according to medieval models, including symbolic planting. In careful coordination with the surrounding architecture, the so-called "Gardens of the Centuries" were created, which were first presented in 2012. Late Renaissance plants grow in the Feuerbrunnenhof, while the Leopoldihof is designed in the Mannerist style. Finally, the Pfistererstiegenhof and the Wassertorhof take up garden forms from the Middle Ages and bring different eras of garden design to life.
Attractions
- Treasury with archducal hat
- Verdun Altar
- Collegiate church
- Abbey garden with garden tours
- Austria's oldest wine and fruit estate
- Abbey store and vinotheque
- Annual special exhibition
- International orchid exhibition (in odd-numbered years)
Events: Events in the show garden
Duration of visit
- 1 to 3.5 hours
- Garden tour for groups: approx. 1 hour
Admission and prices
please refer to the homepage
Accessibility: further information
A child-friendly infrastructure ensures a relaxed family trip to the monastery. There is a small children's playground not far from the Sala terrena with the visitor reception and the monastery store. On the way to the treasure chamber is the "Materiality Secretary", an interactive experience station. The "Stiftsfalter", an activity sheet, encourages visitors to solve exciting puzzles about the monastery.
Stift Klosterneuburg is a fascinating world. It is well worth exploring!
More information at www.stift-klosterneuburg.at.
Church services in the collegiate church
Mon-Fri: 6:30 am, 8:00 am (except first Friday of the month: 6:30 am and 6:00 pm)
Sat: 6:30 a.m., 6:00 p.m.
Sun: 9:00, 11:00, 18:00
