Melk

Melk
Melk
Stift melk 001 2004.jpg
Coat of arms of Melk
Melk is located in Austria
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Melk
Country Austria
State Lower Austria
District Melk
Mayor Thomas Widrich (ÖVP)
Area 25.71 km2 (10 sq mi)
Elevation 213 m  (699 ft)
Population 5,233 (1 January 2011)[1]
 - Density 204 /km² (527 /sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate ME
Postal code 3390
Area codes 0 27 52
Website www.melk.gv.at

Coordinates: 48°13′37″N 15°20′38″E / 48.22694°N 15.34389°E / 48.22694; 15.34389

Melk seen from the abbey

Melk (older spelling: Mölk) is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,222 (as of 2001).

The town is first mentioned as Medilica in 831 in a donation of Louis the German; the name is from a Slavic word for 'border.'[2] The area around Melk was given to Margrave Leopold I in the year 976 to serve as a buffer between the Magyars (called "Turks" in that time's sources) to east and Bavaria to the west. In 996 mention was first made of an area known as Ostarichi, which is the origin of the word Oesterreich (German for Austria). The bluff which holds the current monastery held a Babenberger castle until the site was given to Benedictine monks from nearby Lambach by Margrave Leopold II in 1089. Melk received market rights in 1227 and became a municipality in 1898. In a very small area, Melk presents a great deal of architectural variety from many centuries.

Contents

Notable Sights / Virtual Tour

Melk is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery named Stift Melk.

The Forsthaus, which accommodates the city archives and the tourist information office, is the starting point of the tour. Beside the Forsthaus the Zaglauergasse meets with the Wiener Straße. The Zaglauergasse is restricted on one side by remnants of the ancient city wall. At this junction one could find the Wiener Tor (Vienna Gate) until 1874. It has been, along with the Linzer Tor (Linz Gate) on the other side of the city, one of the two entrances to Melk throughout the centuries.

After several metres, the Wiener Straße opens to the affectionately restored Rathausplatz, which got its name from the Rathaus built in 1575. The facade of the town hall was redesigned 150 years ago and the highly elaborate entrance door, made of wood and copper, is the town hall's most outstanding feature.

To its left is the former Lebzelterhaus, which dates back to 1657 and which nowadays is a pharmacy. To the right is a secular building from the Middle Ages. The Kolomanbrunnen market fountain, which is a gift from the abbey to the city, is in the centre of the Rathausplatz. On the top of the fountain the statue of St. Koloman can be seen.

The old bread store with its tiny towers is about 400 years old and is still covered with the original shingle roof. Behind the old bread store extends the oldest lane in Melk, the Sterngasse, which used to be the main street of the town. The interesting wall paintings on the houses indicate what they used to be. Some other houses contain fascinating courtyards.

The hidden Haus am Stein ('house at the rock') is the oldest building of Melk, built during the 15th century. Its facade is covered by a protected ancient vine. At the arm of the Danube river, parts of the former city walls and the Round Tower can be recognised. Following the Nibelungenlände and passing the Salzhof, the visitor reaches the Schiffsmeisterhaus with its high water level marks on the facade. The Danube reached 15.8 metres above the usual water level in 1501.

The Haus auf dem Stein ('house on the rock') was built less than 50 years after this high water disaster. It was used as an atelier by the Austrian painter Walter Prinzl. The counterpart of the Wiener Tor, the Linzer Tor, was located at the end of the Linzer Straße. Neither gate exists anymore, but historical illustrations can be found at the city archives. At the corner of the Stadtgraben (moat), there is the defense tower, where parts of it are still in original condition.

The Old Post Office is at the end of the moat, which was built in 1792. Its facade is decorated with a beautiful relief created at the end of the baroque period. The Old Post Office is now used as a convention centre. The church court is dominated by the Gothic Pfarrkirche (parish church). Designed in the late gothic period and embedded in the northern facade is the Kalvarienberggruppe, a significant sculpture. Before the main road connects to the Rathausplatz, a tablet commemorates the great Austrian composer Anton Bruckner.

About 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of the town is the renowned renaissance castle Schallaburg.

During World War II, a subcamp of Mauthausen concentration camp was located here.[3] Today all that remains of the camp is the former crematorium.

In 1950, the first official women's Austrian Chess Championship was held in Melk, the winner of which was Salome Reischer.

The narrator of Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose is named Adso of Melk.

People

See also

References

  1. ^ Statistik Austria - Bevölkerung zu Jahres- und Quartalsanfang, 2011-01-01.
  2. ^ Johannes Binder, Travelling on the Danube (DDSG, 1987), p. 112.
  3. ^ Christine O'Keefe. Concentration Camps.

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Melk — Melk …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Melk — (Mölk), Stadt in Niederösterreich, am rechten Ufer der Donau, zwischen den Mündungen der Melk und Pielach, an der Staatsbahnlinie Wien Salzburg gelegen, Sitz einer Bezirkshauptmannschaft und eines Bezirksgerichts, hat ein Krankenhaus, Blindenheim …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Melk — Mêlk, adj. et adv. in der Landwirthschaft, wirklich Milch gebend. Melke Kühe, Schafe, Ziegen, welche gemolken werden können, Melkkühe, Melkschafe. Melk werden, anfangen Milch zu geben. Frischmelke Kühe, welche erst vor kurzem melk geworden; zum… …   Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart

  • melk — Adj milchgebend per. Wortschatz arch. (9. Jh.), mhd. melch, ahd. melc, mndd. melk Stammwort. Aus g. * melka /i Adj. milchgebend , auch in ae. meol(u)c, milc, anord. mjolkr. Verbaladjektiv zu melken, also melkbar . west und nordgermanisch s.… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Melk — (Mölk), Marktflecken an der Donau, in Österreich ob der Enns, am Fuße eines Felsens, auf welchem die 1702–36 erbaute, reiche Benedictinerabtei (die. volle Metze genannt, wegen reichlicher Getreideeinnahme), mit schöner Kirche, Bibliothek mit 1500 …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Melk — (Mölk), Bezirksort in Niederösterreich, an der Donau, (1900) 2257 E.; alte berühmte Benediktinerabtei (1089 gegründet) mit Gymnasium, prachtvoller Kirche (Grabstätte der ersten Babenberger und des heil. Colomannus), Bibliothek; im Archiv das… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Melk [2] — Melk, Heinrich von, s. Heinrich (mittelhochd. Dichter) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Melk — (Mölk), Marktflecken in Niederösterreich mit 1200 E., der berühmten u. reichen Benedictinerabtei M. auf einem Granithügel 180 über der Donau, gestiftet 984 durch Leopold den Erlauchten, mit theologischer Lehranstalt. Gymnasium, reicher Bibliothek …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • melk — melk·hout; …   English syllables

  • melk-1 —     melk 1     English meaning: to rub (?)     Deutsche Übersetzung: “worũber streichen”     Note: parallel root to melĝ .     Material: Lat. mulceō, ēre, mulsī, sum “ to stroke, graze, touch lightly, fondle; rustle through; to move; to soothe …   Proto-Indo-European etymological dictionary

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