Melk Abbey Church, in the town of Melk, Austria

 “The coming decades are likely to challenge much of what we think we know about what progress is, and about who we are in relation to the rest of nature. Can you think, or act, like the librarian of a monastery through the Dark Ages, guarding the old books as empires rise and fall outside?” ― Paul Kingsnorth

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(in a grand location overlooking the blue Danube near Vienna, in Lower Austria) The town of Melk, in northeastern Austria, is found at the confluence of the Danube and Melk rivers, west of Sankt Pölten. The town was the site of a Roman garrison and was the castle-residence of the Babenberg rulers of Austria from 976 to 1101. The castle and surrounding lands were given in 1111 to the huge Benedictine abbey of Melk (founded in 1089), which dominates the area. The abbey was enlarged and fortified in the 14th century, but most of its palatial buildings date from its Baroque reconstruction in the early 18th century. With its blockbuster abbey-fortress, (a UNESCO World Heritage Site set high above the Danube), Melk is undoubtedly a high point of any visit to the region and a popular stop-off. Separated from the river by a stretch of woodland, this alluring town, of the many places with abbeys in Austria, makes for quite a rewarding day trip, especially from Krems or Vienna.

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