Above the left bank of the Danube, 60 kilometres west of Vienna, rises the town of Melk and the Abbey, the seat of the Babenbergs. Abbey, the seat of the Babenbergs. In the 11th century, Leopold II invited Benedictines from Lambach to Melk and granted them land and a castle, which the monks turned into a fortified monastery. turned into a fortified monastery. In 1297 the monastery burned down completely and has been rebuilt several times since then. since then it has been rebuilt several times. In the 16th century it withstood the invasion of the Turks. В 1702, the abbot Berthold Dietmeyer began a detailed remodelling of the complex. Jakob Prandtauer von Erlach, Joseph Mangenast and other prominent artists of the time. of the period gave the monastery its modern Baroque outline.
The altar of the monastery's Baroque church with frescoes by Johann Michael Rottmeyer depicts the patrons of the abbey, Saints Peter and Paul. The prelate's courtyard is surrounded by majestic buildings topped with statues of prophets and frescoes depicting the main frescoes. frescoes depicting the cardinal virtues. In the magnificent Marble Hall, decorated with paintings by Paul Troger, was once used for receptions and ceremonies. The Abbey's impressive library consists of 100,000 volumes, including 2,000 manuscripts and 1,600 incunables. manuscripts and 1,600 incunabula. The ceiling of the library is decorated with a beautiful fresco by by Paul Troger.
