AT Melk Cathedral Dome
The high point of the baroque monastery is the church. Following the wishes of the abbot and monastic community, this is intended to make the religious purpose of the entire construction and its orientation towards God clearly visible. The leitmotif “ABSIT GLORIARI NISI INCRUCE” (Glory is found only in the cross) is found in the inscription over the Benedict Hall at the beginning of the tour, and continues through the abbey to the church, in whose splendour the glory of the cross is clear.
Originally only a Baroquization of the abbey church was planned. However, after 1701, at Abbot Berthold Dietmayr’s instigation, a complete reconstruction of the church took place following plans by Jakob Prandtauer.
The men acquired for the artistic decoration of the church were prominent masters in their fields: Antonio Beduzzi (interior design, sketches for the frescoes), Johann Michael Rottmayr (frescoes, altar paintings), Paul Troger (altar paintings), Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena (designs for the pulpit and high altar), Lorenzo Mattielli (design for the sculptures), and Peter Widerin (sculptures).
The left side altar in the transept contains the skeleton of St. Coloman in a sarcophagus. The altar to the right is dedicated to St. Benedict but the sarcophagus is empty.
AT Melk Cathedral Dome
The high point of the baroque monastery is the church. Following the wishes of the abbot and monastic community, this is intended to make the religious purpose of the entire construction and its orientation towards God clearly visible. The leitmotif “ABSIT GLORIARI NISI INCRUCE” (Glory is found only in the cross) is found in the inscription over the Benedict Hall at the beginning of the tour, and continues through the abbey to the church, in whose splendour the glory of the cross is clear.
Originally only a Baroquization of the abbey church was planned. However, after 1701, at Abbot Berthold Dietmayr’s instigation, a complete reconstruction of the church took place following plans by Jakob Prandtauer.
The men acquired for the artistic decoration of the church were prominent masters in their fields: Antonio Beduzzi (interior design, sketches for the frescoes), Johann Michael Rottmayr (frescoes, altar paintings), Paul Troger (altar paintings), Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena (designs for the pulpit and high altar), Lorenzo Mattielli (design for the sculptures), and Peter Widerin (sculptures).
The left side altar in the transept contains the skeleton of St. Coloman in a sarcophagus. The altar to the right is dedicated to St. Benedict but the sarcophagus is empty.