At the point where the Danube enters the region of the Wachau lies the little town of Melk, dominated by the massive bulk of the Benedictine abbey, one of the best known and most splendid monastic houses in Austria. Visible from miles away, the abbey is perched on a hill which slopes steeply down to the Danube and is accessible only from the east
Originally a Roman fortified post (Namare), Melk was later occupied by a Babenberg castle to defend the border against the Hungarians. In 1089 the castle and church were made over to the Benedictines by the Margrave Leopold II; in 1113 the bones of St Koloman were moved there. In the 13th C. Melk became a market town. After the abbey had been damaged by fire several times the present magnificent Baroque abbey was built by Jakob Prandtauer and Joseph Munggenast between 1702 and 1738.
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