Klosterneuburg Abbey

A flight of steps in the Klosterneuburg Abbey leads down into the 12th C. St Leopold's Chapel (originally the chapterhouse), where Leopold III is buried and in which, behind a richly wrought screen, can be seen the famous Verdun Altar. Perhaps the finest existing example of medieval enamel work, this consists of 51 panels of champlevé work on gilded copper depicting Biblical scenes by Nicholas of Verdun (1181), originally on the ambo (reading pulpit) of the Romanesque church. After a fire in 1329 the panels were put together to form the present winged altarpiece. The remains of the founder are contained in a silver reliquary. Four painted panels, affixed to the altar in 1331 and the oldest in Austria (painted in Vienna before 1329) are now in the abbey museum. Note also the beautiful 14th and 15th C. stained glass in the chapel.

The Romanesque church was built between 1114-36; the towers were begun in 1394 and 1638 respectively, but received their Neo-Gothic spires only in 1887-92. The decorations and furnishings in their present Baroque form date from the 17th and 18th C., the high altar from 1728 and the organ from 1632.

Southwest of the Klosterneuburg Abbey church stands the old Cooper's Shop (Stiftsbinderei), with the Tauseneimerfass (lit. "Thousand Bucket Cask"), a cask (1704) holding 560 hectolitres/12,300 gallons; on St Leopold's Day (Nov. 15th) "Fasslrutschen" (sliding down the cask) is a popular amusement.

From the beautiful Klosterneuburg Abbey Gothic Cloister we enter the Freisinger or Wehinger Chapel (Kapelle; 1384) and the Refectory, now housing a Lapidarium with a collection of Romanesque and Gothic sculpture, including the life-size "Madonna of Klosterneuburg" (c. 1310).

The New Buildings (Neues Stiftsgebäude) or Residenztrakt in the Klosterneuburg Abbey are a magnificent Baroque complex (1730-55), although they represent only a quarter of the buildings originally planned by the Emperor Charles VI. The two domes on the eastern side bear copper representations of the German Imperial Crown and the archducal cap of Lower Austria.

Above the Baroque entrance hall in the Klosterneuburg Abbey Residenztrakt will be found the library, with a large collection open only to students. Among the apartments shown to visitors are the Marble Hall with frescos by Daniel Gran, the Imperial Apartments, the Tapestry Hall (Brussels tapestries) and the Treasure Chamber.

On the second and third floors of the Residenztrakt is the lavishly equipped museum; items on display include the Habsburg family tree, the Albrechtsaltar gifted in 1438 and medieval paintings.

The museum also houses the Austrian Archducal Hat, although it is rarely put on public display.

In the Klosterneuburg Abbey Stiftsplatz stands a Lantern of the Dead (Lichtsäule) of 1381. The large Stiftskeller (abbey cellar) is now a restaurant.