Rein Abbey, Cistercian monastery in Gratwein-Straßengel, Austria.
Rein Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in Gratwein-Straßengel featuring a church with Romanesque foundations alongside other structures rebuilt in Baroque style between 1738 and 1747. The complex also houses a chapel with Gothic vaults completed in the early 1400s and a library building containing thousands of medieval manuscripts and early printed books.
The monastery was founded in 1129 by Margrave Leopold the Strong and became an important regional center over time. In the 13th century, local nobility gathered here to pledge allegiance to a significant ruler of the era.
The name comes from the nearby river that flows through the region. The community of monks continues to live and work here, and visitors can see how religious life is organized within these spaces.
Visitors can explore the complex through guided tours that include the chapel, church, and some courtyards. It is helpful to check in advance which areas are open to tourists, as parts of the monastery remain in active use by the resident monks.
Excavations in 2006 revealed the foundations of the original Romanesque chapter house buried beneath current structures. These discoveries showed how the monastery was rebuilt multiple times while remaining in the same location across centuries.
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