No ' Sturm und Drang' today, just incredible beauty. Our agenda was to visit the places that my father was particularly enthusiastic about. We stayed in a typical baroque little town with pastel painted houses along the main street. We had pastry from the nearby konditerei for breakfast, and headed for Kremsmunster to see the Benedictine Abbey and church, the most important item to see being the chalice of Thassilo, which my father has talked about rather insistently. The abbey was built by Duke Thassil III on the spot where his son was killed by a boar. The silver and gold chalice was made in 765, and was used at the wedding of Duke Thassilo and his wife. The abbey is a huge complex, with a lovely baroque church, an unbelievable library with thousands of ancient books in different languages and wonderfully preserved. I liked that the main portraitist and painter of frescos was named Altomonte; he came from Tyrol, and had a typical German name meaning 'top of the hill/mountain, but changed it to Altomonte so he'd get more respect, since Italian painters were better respected and received more commissions. We saw his paintings later when we visited Sankt Florian, an Augustinian monastery nearby.
The most entertaining part of Kremsmunster were the fish basins. The Benedictines ate fish on Fridays and holy days, which were many, and farmed their fish on the property. We saw mostly trout and sturgeon. Each basin had a statue spouting out water, of Samson, David, Neptune. Triton and other mythological creatures. Most of the monasteries were entirely self sufficient, and had vineyards and herb and vegetable gardens, but I had never seen fish basins!
We fought afternoon traffic on narrow country roads to get to Sankt Florian, important to my father because Anton Bruckner was the organist there and taught at the school. Every free moment that Bruckner had, he played the organ and asked to be buried exactly under the organ which he loved so much. We went down to the crypt underneath the church and found his resing place, near thousands of bones from all those that had been buried there over the years. The organ is massive, and the entire time we were at the church, the organist practiced his pieces. I tried to imagine my father coming to the church to listen to music and looking at books in the amazing library; I could see how the place would appeal to him.
Saint Florian was a Roman, who in 304 was martyred for his Christian beliefs. He was drowned with a millstone around his neck and when his wife pulled him out of the water, he was buried under the exact spot where the monastery was built. The story was that he was put on a cart and when entering the town, the oxen stopped moving, until a fountain suddenly sprung up and the oxen drank and then kept going until they arrived at the burial spot. He is the patron saint of Upper Austria, and of firefighters, and is often depicted pouring water over a burning house. There is a Firefighter museum just outside the monastery grounds.
It was a grey day, and the rain worsened as the day progressed. By the time we were driving along the Danube to Melk, the mist was rising and the Danube was bursting, the perfect setting for the Niebelungengau, and I could easily imagine the setting for the story. We stopped in Grein for a view of the Danube before it narrows, and started on our study of Austrian dessert. Karen chose a fancy torte with hazelnuts and marzipan, and Tara one with poppy seeds and plums. We decided to forgo all but desserts today. My memories of Austria are all tied up with tasty delicious dessert!
The castles along the road to Melk were shrouded in mist and romance. The monastery materializes in the distance high on a hill above the river. I have wanted to visit this place for years, and for all sorts of reasons have always passed it by, but we will stay in Melk tonight and make it to the 9 AM tour in the morning, unless the weather is perfect for a boat ride down the river.
The most entertaining part of Kremsmunster were the fish basins. The Benedictines ate fish on Fridays and holy days, which were many, and farmed their fish on the property. We saw mostly trout and sturgeon. Each basin had a statue spouting out water, of Samson, David, Neptune. Triton and other mythological creatures. Most of the monasteries were entirely self sufficient, and had vineyards and herb and vegetable gardens, but I had never seen fish basins!
We fought afternoon traffic on narrow country roads to get to Sankt Florian, important to my father because Anton Bruckner was the organist there and taught at the school. Every free moment that Bruckner had, he played the organ and asked to be buried exactly under the organ which he loved so much. We went down to the crypt underneath the church and found his resing place, near thousands of bones from all those that had been buried there over the years. The organ is massive, and the entire time we were at the church, the organist practiced his pieces. I tried to imagine my father coming to the church to listen to music and looking at books in the amazing library; I could see how the place would appeal to him.
Saint Florian was a Roman, who in 304 was martyred for his Christian beliefs. He was drowned with a millstone around his neck and when his wife pulled him out of the water, he was buried under the exact spot where the monastery was built. The story was that he was put on a cart and when entering the town, the oxen stopped moving, until a fountain suddenly sprung up and the oxen drank and then kept going until they arrived at the burial spot. He is the patron saint of Upper Austria, and of firefighters, and is often depicted pouring water over a burning house. There is a Firefighter museum just outside the monastery grounds.
It was a grey day, and the rain worsened as the day progressed. By the time we were driving along the Danube to Melk, the mist was rising and the Danube was bursting, the perfect setting for the Niebelungengau, and I could easily imagine the setting for the story. We stopped in Grein for a view of the Danube before it narrows, and started on our study of Austrian dessert. Karen chose a fancy torte with hazelnuts and marzipan, and Tara one with poppy seeds and plums. We decided to forgo all but desserts today. My memories of Austria are all tied up with tasty delicious dessert!
The castles along the road to Melk were shrouded in mist and romance. The monastery materializes in the distance high on a hill above the river. I have wanted to visit this place for years, and for all sorts of reasons have always passed it by, but we will stay in Melk tonight and make it to the 9 AM tour in the morning, unless the weather is perfect for a boat ride down the river.
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