Page 205 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Austria

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w Wels
Road map E3. * 59,000. @ £
n Stadtplatz 44 (07242) 67 722-0.
∑ wels.at
The history of Wels dates back
to Roman days, as testified by
numerous excavations. Some
of the objects discovered are on
display in the former Minorites’
Abbey, including the famous
Wels Venus, a bronze statuette
from the 1st–2nd century AD
and the oldest early-Christian
epitaph in Austria, from the first
half of the 4th century.
Today Wels is a centre of
agriculture and industry, and
Flamingoes in the zoo at Schmiding the venue of Agraria, a biennial
agricultural fair of international
biggest colony of flamingoes the family seat into a monastery. importance. Many historic fea-
are further highlights of the Their son, Bishop Adalbero of tures have also been preserved.
zoo. Children love the 5-m Würzburg, who was later Stadtplatz, the main square in
(16-ft) high platform which canonized, invited Benedictine the old town, is entered through
allows them to come face to monks here in 1089. In the same a Baroque gate, the Ledererturm.
face with the giraffes. year, the Lambach monks Many houses in Stadtplatz have
The park lies at the foot of a established a second monastery attractive façades, such as the
castle dating from 1405. After at Melk which, even tually, was Rococo Kremsmünstererhof
World War II the castle served to surpass the mother abbey in with its arcaded courtyard,
as a military hospital; it has since terms of status and beauty. which for 400 years belonged to
been restored and converted The abbey church was mostly Kremsmünster Abbey. Adjacent
into apartments. rebuilt in the 17th cen tury; to it stands a water tower (1577)
rebuilding of the abbey itself and a two-house complex form-
was completed 50 years later. ing the late-Baroque town hall.
q Lambach The Baroque interior of the Also in Stadtplatz is the
Road map D3. * 3,400. @ £ church is very beautiful, but Stadt pfarrkirche, the parish
Tel (07245) 283550. Lambach owes its fame primarily church of St John the Evangelist,
to the Romanesque frescoes, with an original Romanesque
Lambach, conveniently located probably dating from the portal and magni ficent 14th-
on the left bank of the Traun 11th century. Unique in Austria, century stained-glass windows
River, grew rich in the Middle they are considered to be one in the presbytery. Burg Wels,
Ages thanks to the flourishing of Europe’s most resplendent the imperial palace first docu-
salt trade. Around 1040 Count examples of Romanesque art. At mented in 776, is now a lively
Arnold II von Wels-Lambach and their centre is the Madonna with cultural centre and home of
his wife Regilinda transformed Child, to the left the Adoration of the regional museum.
the Magi, who present gifts
to the Holy Infant. The south
vault depicts Jerusalem and
Herod’s palace. The abbey
treasury also holds the
Romanesque chalice
of Bishop Adalbero and
precious monstrances and
chasubles. Also on view
are ceiling paintings by
Martino Altomonte and
Martin Johann Schmidt.
The musical archives hold a
copy of Mozart’s Lambacher
Symphonie, which the com-
poser reputedly created
while staying here. Lambach
also has a beautifully pre- The galleried courtyard of
Romanesque frescoes in Lambach Abbey served Rococo theatre. Krems münsterhof in Stadtplatz, Wels

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