61. THE CHURCH

Words fail to describe this masterpiece of Baroque splendour! The flamboyant architecture, the colours of the ceiling fresco, stucco marble on the walls, the colouring of the galleries combined to create a wonderful symphony of form and colour. Gold, orange, ochre, grey and green create a warm colour accord.     PLAN

62. SPLENDOUR!

The interior design of the church seems to have been shaped by the hand of the Italian architect Antonio Beduzzi. His plans for many parts of the church have been maintained.

63. CHURCH VAULTING

The ceiling frescoes in the church were painted following Beduzzi’s plans by the Salzburg painter Johann Michael Rottmayr. The dome was created in 1716 –1717, and the ceiling fresco of the church was completed in 1722.

64. SIDE ALTAR – ST NICHOLAS

The sides of the nave are lined with chapel-like side altars, designed by the Italian Antonio Beduzzi. The central picture and the reliefs in each side altar show scenes from the life of the saint to whom the altar is dedicated. This altar at the back of the nave is dedicated to St Nicholas.

65. SIDE ALTAR – ST SEBASTIAN

Opposite the altar to St Nicholas is this altar dedicated to St Sebastian. The altar paintings in these two back altars were done by Paul Troger in 1746.

66. SIDE ALTAR – ST MICHAEL

The next altar on the left is dedicated to St Michael. The painting was done by Johann Michael Rottmayr in 1723. The sarcophagus contains the skeleton of a martyr named Clemens – a gift from Cardinal Crevelli.

67. SIDE ALTAR – ST JOHN THE BAPTIST

Opposite St Michael’s altar is this altar dedicated to St John the Baptist. This painting is also by Rottmayr, in 1727. On the altar are the remains of an unknown martyr from the catacombs in Rome, given the name Friedrich. This was a gift from Maria Theresa.

68. SIDE ALTAR – EPIPHANY

The third side altar on the left has another painting by Rottmayr, this one depicting the Adoration of the Magi, dating from 1723.

69. SIDE ALTAR – LEOPOLD

The third altar on the right side is called the Leopold Altar. The altar picture, done on a tin plate, dates back before the reconstruction, and was painted by Georg Bachmann in 1650. The picture shows scenes from the lives of Leopold I, II, and III.

70. PULPIT

Next on the left side we come to the golden pulpit. This was created by sculptor Peter Widerin. A depiction of Faith is shown casting demons of unbelief into the depths.

71. CHURCH WALLS

At this point in our exploration we pause and look back, taking in both the side walls of the nave. What a riot of colour and decoration this is!    

72. GALLERIES

The Abbey Church has so much detail it is easy to miss even quite major features such as these galleries at the top of the nave side walls.

73. ORGAN

The original large organ was unfortunately lost in the remodelling of the Abbey church in 1929. However, in 1970 a purely mechanical pipe organ with three keyboards and 45 stops (3553 pipes) was built by the organ builder Gregor Hradetzky from Krems.

74. ST KOLOMAN’S ALTAR

The Church transept meets the axis of the Church with the dome surmounting the crossing. There is an altar on either side. On the left is St Koloman’s Altar which contains the remains of the saint. Above is an obelisk with the saint kneeling at the foot. At the sides of the obelisk are two saints: St Donatus (left), and St Florian (right).

75. ST BENEDICT’S ALTAR

On the other (right) side is St Benedict’s Altar. The group of figures represent the saint as he is said to have died, standing in the midst of his fellow brothers. The sarcophagus is empty and there is again a central obelisk. At the sides of the obelisk are two saints: St Berthold of Garsten (left), and St Scholastica (right).

76. CHOIR STALLS

Beneath the dome, and in front of the two side transept altars, are the choir stalls.

77. THE DOME

The Four Evangelists are pictured in the corner spandrels of the dome, and below each is a Latin Doctor of the Church: Matthew/Augustine, Mark/Hieronymus, Luke/Ambrosius, and John/Gregory the Great. The dome itself shows a magnificent heavenly scene including the Members of the Trinity, Mary, the apostles and a host of saints.

78. CEILING

We follow the ceiling down from the dome towards the high altar. The scenes depicted here relate to the dying Benedict and his ascension to heaven.

79. CROWN AND HIGH ALTAR

The theme of the high altar is the battling and triumphant church. Above the altar is a plaque with this central theme (Without a legitimate battle there is no victory – 2 Tim 2:5), and the crown of victory. Above the crown, God the Father sits on his throne, and above this is the cross of Christ.

80. HIGH ALTAR

We finish our tour of the Abbey Church with this final wide view of the high altar. Just above the altar are the figures of St Peter and St Paul. Between the altar columns are figures of the Old Testament prophets Daniel, Jeremiah, David, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Gideon. Our visit to the Melk Abbey Church has been quite unforgettable.

81. ANCIENT CLOCK

It is something of an anticlimax to leave the glories of the Church and leave via the gift shop, but this old clock near the gift shop deserves a mention. The clock is made entirely of wood including all the gears. It is the size of a grandfather clock but without the case. The inlay work on the clock face is exquisite.