Seitenstetten Abbey, Benedictine abbey and museum in Seitenstetten, Austria
Seitenstetten Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in the market town of Seitenstetten in Lower Austria. The monastic complex was built as a unified ensemble in the 18th century, while the abbey church retains Gothic elements from an earlier period.
The monastery was founded in the early 12th century and received its first Benedictine monks shortly after. Over the following centuries it was rebuilt and expanded several times, taking on its current unified form in the 18th century.
The abbey church has a barrel-vaulted ceiling decorated with frescoes and altars that visitors can still see today. Services are held regularly in the same spaces that have been in use for centuries, and visitors are welcome to attend.
The abbey can be explored on foot, with stairs and uneven ground in some areas, so comfortable shoes are a good idea. A visit can easily be combined with a walk through the monastery garden, which is also open to visitors.
The abbey holds one of the largest monastic libraries in Austria, with thousands of books that include medieval manuscripts and early printed works. Some of these items are on display in the library, which visitors can enter as part of a tour.
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