Page 202 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Austria

200  A USTRIA REGION B Y REGION

whose last member died in the
12th century, during the Third
Crusade. Until the 19th century
Perg was the largest centre of
millstone production; it is also
the home of Manner, the largest
manufacturer of sweet wafers in
the world. Worth seeing today
are some attractive houses on
Herrengasse, a 1683 Baroque
pillory in the main square and
St Jacob’s church (1416), which
has retained its Gothic interior.
In Perg’s environs, graves
and numerous remains of the
Hallstatt civilization have been
unearthed (see p212). The
Heimathaus, at No. 1
Stifterstrasse, exhibits finds
from that period. It also
documents the production of
millstones and has an interesting
collection of 16th–17th-century
One of the magnificent rooms in the emperor’s apartments in St Florian Abbey ceramics, decorated using a
special local technique.
3 St Florian incunabula and manuscripts.
Road map E3. * 6,000. @ The ceiling painting by
n (07224) 5690. Open Abbey: Bartolomeo Altomonte shows 5 Kefermarkt
Guided tours: 11am, 1pm, 3pm. the marriage of Virtue with Road map E3. * 2,000. @
Bruckner organ: mid-May–mid-Oct: Knowledge. Next to the library is n Oberer Markt 15, (07947) 591 00.
2:30pm Wed–Fri, Sun, Mon. & the Marble Hall with huge ∑ kefermarkt.at
columns, designed by Jakob
Florian, the prefect of the Roman Prandtauer. The grand staircase The main attraction in this
Noricum Province, converted in the west wing, also by little town is its 15th-century
to Christianity and was tortured Prandtauer, leads to the emperor’s Wallfahrts kirche (pilgrimage
and thrown into the Enns river in apartments, where important church), built by Christoph
304 as a result. guests stayed. von Zelking, the master of
His body was Adjacent is the Kefermarkt’s castle, Schloss
retrieved and, in room of Anton Weinberg. He also commis-
the 11th century, Bruckner, who sioned its altar, dedicated to
a magnificent was associated his favourite saint, St Wolfgang
abbey and a with St Florian for (died 994), bishop of Regensburg
church were built many years. and Henry II’s tutor. The creator
on the site of his Carlo Carlone of the altar is unknown, but
burial place by Alter Codex from remodelled the the result is a masterpiece of
Augustinian monks; the library of St Florian abbey church – his medieval art. Carved entirely
they remain the great master piece. from limewood, it was probably
keepers of St Florian to this day. Worth seeing inside are the once painted, but now the
The present appearance of the stained-glass windows, the lovely original texture and colour of
abbey and church is the work pulpit and the main altar with a the wood are revealed. Its
of two outstanding Baroque painting of the Assumption of centre is made up of the figures
architects: Carlo Carlone and the Virgin Mary flanked by of saints Peter, Wolfgang and
Jakob Prandtauer. columns of pink Salzburg marble. Christopher. On the wings of
St Florian is an impressive The abbey also has an art gallery. the altar, the artist has placed
complex of buildings, with scenes of the Annunciation, the
monks’ quarters, reception Birth of Christ, the Adoration of
rooms and a church with an 4 Perg the Magi and the Death of Mary.
adjoining chapel of the Virgin Road map E3. * 8,000. £ @ The altar was once riddled
Mary. The main feature in n (07262) 53150. with woodworm and only
the large courtyard is the narrowly escaped total destruc-
Adlerbrunnen (Eagle Well), built Perg, a small town with a long tion. It was carefully restored in
in 1603. The east wing houses history situated 30 km (19 miles) 1852–5, under the supervision
the library, with its vast collection east of Linz, was once owned of Adalbert Stifter, a writer and
of over 140,000 volumes, by the mighty Von Perg family, school inspector for Upper
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp296–7 and pp320–21

200-201_EW_Austria.indd 200 12/09/17 3:04 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.1)
Date 5th December 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm