Panorama taken from the courtyard of Stift Klosterneuburg showing the church, and Gothic Lichtssäule in the courtyard as well as some of the other outlying buildings.

Stift Klosterneuburg - Abbey - Klosterneuburg visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Stift Klosterneuburg - Abbey' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Niederoesterreich.

Stift Klosterneuburg (Klosterneuburg Abbey) is one of the oldest and wealthiest monasteries in Austria. It stands in Klosterneuburg, a short distance north of Vienna in Niederösterreich and one of the most popular tourist attractions near the city.

Stift Klosterneuburg is a Roman Catholic Augustinian founded in 1114 by Babenberg Duke Leopold III, Margrave of Austria and his wife Agnes. It has been the home of a community of Canons Regular of St. Augustine since 1133. In 1485 Leopold was canonized and is now the Patron Saint of Austria. The order here is one of the richest in Austria, and owns much of the land of north-west Vienna and in the Wienerwald.

The story behind Stift Klosterneuburg is that wind blew the veil of Agnes away from her at a nearby castle. The Duke vowed to build an abbey wherever the veil was found and thus the story of monastic orders at Klosterneuburg began.

The church, Stiftkirche, was originally a 14C Romanesque basilica, but underwent extensive Neo-Gothic restoration in the 19C. The resulting finials and other changes obscure the west front, but the south door is much unchanged from earlier times. The interior is richly decorated in 17C Baroque style, using extensive frescoes and stuccowork. The best fresco is the Assumption by Johannn Michael Rottmayr.

The cloisters to the north of the church are mediaeval dating from the late 13C. The hexagonal structure seen in this panorama is the Polygonal Wellhouse which contains a massive 12C bronze candelabra from Verona.

The most important artifact at the monastery is the Verduner Altar in the Leopoldskapelle to the east of the cloisters. This winged altar was made in 1181 by Nikolaus of Verdun. It contains over 50 gilded enamel plaques showing scenes from both the Old and New Testaments. Underneath the altar is the Wiener Werkstätte casket which contains the top half of Leopold III. His legs are buried nearby beneath a wrought-iron grille.

Stift Klosterneuburg complex contains a an extensive library of some 30,000 books and manuscripts, a treasury and relic-chamber and a wine cellar with an immense tunnel similar to the one at Heidelberg Castle in Heidelberg, Germany.

In the courtyard by the church is a Gothic Lichtssäule (Lighted Column). These were once common in the villages of Austria, but are now very rare and this is one of the few remaining examples.

The ticket office for guided tours is found in the Residentrakt, the only wing completed of a palace planned to be built on the site by Emperor Karl Vi in the 18C.

Stift Klosterneuburg
Stiftsplatz 1
3400 Klosterneuburg bei Wien
Austria

Underground U4: Heiligenstadt, then autobus 239 or 241: Klosterneuburg-Niedermarkt or City Train S 40: Klosterneuburg-Kierling Underground U6: Spittelau, then City Train S 40: Klosterneuburg-Kierling