Page 144 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Austria

142  A USTRIA REGION B Y REGION

abbey has a lovely early­Gothic
cloister and now houses the
Museum Krems, with exhibits
on the town’s history. Krems
also has a Renaissance town hall
and the vast, 13th­century
Gozzoburg, a palace built by
Judge Gozzo.
The Minoritenkirche, the
Church of the Minorite Monks
in Stein dates from the same
period. It is adorned with
14th­century paintings of the
Virgin Mary on a throne. The
parish church of St Nicholas
has a beautiful altapiece and
The magnificent organ in Stift Göttweig ceiling frescoes.
9 Stift Göttweig apotheosis of Karl VI. The abbey
has an interesting collection of q Waldviertel Tour
Road map F3. £ @ Tel (02732) 85
581­0. Open mid­Mar–Oct: 8am–6pm sculptures, paintings and See pp144–5.
daily. Museum: Open mid­Mar–Oct: graphic art. The abbey
10am–6pm daily (from 9am Jun–Sep). restaurant affords great views
& 8 (02732) 855 810 to book. - of the surroundings. w Dürnstein
∑ stiftgoettweig.or.at
Road map F3. * 900. £ @
0 Krems n Dürnstein 25, (2711) 219.
Stift Göttweig, a Benedictine ∑ duernstein.at
abbey, crowns a hilltop on the Road map F3. * 24,000. £ @
south bank of the Danube, n Utzstrasse 1 (02732) 82676. Much of the popularity of
near Krems. Founded in 1083, _ Donaufestival (late Apr/early the idyllically situated town
it was inhabited by Benedictine May), Folklore Festival (Jul). of Dürnstein is due to the
monks from St Blasien in the ∑ krems.gv.at adventures of the English king,
Black Forest from 1094. Stift Richard the Lionheart. On the
Göttweig is sometimes During the 11th and 12th Third Crusade, undertaken with
referred to as the Austrian centuries, Krems, then known the French king Philip August
Monte Cassino because, as Chremis, was a serious rival to and the Austrian margrave
superficially, it resembles the Vienna. Today, this attractive Leopold V, Richard fell out
Benedictine mother abbey. town, together with neigh bour­ with his fellow crusaders.
The abbey was rebuilt after a ing Stein, is a popular On his journey home through
fire in 1718, according to plans destination. Visitors are Babenberg territories, in
by Johann Lukas von enchanted by the beautiful 1192, he was imprisoned
Hildebrandt. The project architecture of its town in Kuenringer castle above
was never completed, houses and court yards, Dürnstein, whose ruins can
however, and the which give Krems a still be seen today. As legend
present abbey southern, Italian has it, the King’s faithful
has an feel. There are French minstrel, Jean Blondel,
interesting but remains of the old discovered him with a song
somewhat town walls, but the known only to the two of
asymmetrical greatest attrac tion is them. A ransom of 35,000 kg
outline, with a the late­Gothic (77,100 lbs) of silver was paid and
Neo­Classical Piaristenkirche, Richard released. The Babenbergs
façade. In 1739, an imposing Piarist used the money to fortify Enns,
a magnificent flight church built on Hainburg, Wiener Neustadt and
of stairs, known the foundations Vienna, while the name of the
as Kaiserstiege Exhibit in the Museum of an older church. It faithful servant lives on in many
(imperial staircase), Krems boasts a beautiful of Dürnstein’s establishments.
was added to the Baroque altarpiece The Baroque silhouette of the
western section of the abbey. by the local artist Johann Martin Stiftskirche (collegiate Church
The stairs are lined with statues Schmidt, known as Kremser of the Assumption of the Virgin
representing the four seasons Schmidt. The Veitskirche, the Mary) towering above the town
and the twelve months of the parish church of St Veit, is the was created by the masters of the
year. Inside, the abbey is earliest Baroque church in day. The courtyard is probably
adorned with a fresco by Paul Austria, the work of Cypriano the work of Jakob Prandtauer;
Troger, depicting the Biasino. The former Dominican the entrance is embellished
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p295 and pp316–18

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