Stift Schlägl, Premonstratensian monastery in Aigen-Schlägl, Austria.

Stift Schlägl is a Premonstratensian abbey in Aigen-Schlägl in the Mühlviertel. The photograph shows a pale yellow baroque block of three storeys above a lower level, with grey stone quoins, rows of rectangular windows, small stone balconies on the upper floor and a grey hipped roof edged with red tiles. At the far left stands a church tower with a clock face, an onion dome, a lantern and a cross.

Founded as a Cistercian house called Slaga around 1202/1203 by Bishop Wolfger of Passau through Kalhoch II of Falkenstein, it failed within a few years; on 9 July 1218 Kalhoch transferred the foundation to the Premonstratensians. A fire destroyed the buildings in 1627, and the early baroque rebuilding, including the library and stables, was damaged by fire in 1850 and followed by a neo-baroque reconstruction.

The monastery is still an active Premonstratensian canonry, one of the largest in Central Europe, with 36 canons; several serve parishes across the Mühlviertel. The order took over the site in 1218, when Kalhoch II of Falkenstein transferred his foundation to the Premonstratensians. The canons also run a brewery, a restaurant and guest accommodation.

The monastery offers guided tours that provide access to the church, selected interior spaces, and the surrounding grounds. Plan to spend several hours exploring, as the complex is large and includes areas to walk through at a leisurely pace.

The monastery runs the Stiftsbrauerei Schlägl brewery, but the sources give no founding date, so the often-quoted four centuries are unsupported. Look instead for the granite fountain carved by H. Getzinger between 1623 and 1629, whose maskarons also appear on the convent facade. The monastery gallery, set up in 1898, keeps a Gothic panel of the Madonna of the Ears of Grain from 1413.