Melk

• Stadtgemeinde Melk Tourismusbüro

  phone: +43 2752-511 60
  address: Linzer Straße 5
  Free town map with a self-guided walking tour, a list of Melk hotels and rooms, latest info on nearby castles, bike rentals, and bike rides along the river.

By rail

• Bahnhof Melk

  phone: +43 2752 52321
  address: Bahnhofplatz 1
  Trains leave frequently from Vienna's Westbahnhof to Melk, with two brief stops en route (about 1 hr. trip time). Use ÖBB's SCOTTY to look up train information online.

By car

Use the A1 Westautobahn motorway and take the exit Melk. Melk-Wien: 85 km.

By boat

From mid-April through October Dürnstein can be reached by river boats which ply the route between Melk, Emmersdorf, Spitz, Dürnstein, and Krems/Stein.

• DDSG Blue Danube Schiffahrt GmbH

  phone: +43 1 588 80
  Operates several times daily; timetables and fares (listed at the bottom of the page) can be found here. Tickets can be purchased at any of the docking points, in Vienna, or online. Bicycles (€2) and dogs (free) permitted on board.

• Brandner

  phone: +43 7433 2590 21
  address: Pionierstrasse
  Operates twice daily, also making a stop in Weißenkirchen. Timetables and fares can bee seen here. Tickets can be purchased online. Bicycles (€2) and dogs (free, muzzle and leash required) permitted on board.

Walking the small historic town center (of mainly 16th-17th century buildings) is easy; takes about 10 minutes to traverse it. The famous and huge 18th century Benetictine Abbey on top of a bluff forms a northern Baroque backdrop for the older town center and is accessed on its eastern side.

• Nextbike

  phone: +43 2742 22 99 01 (hotline)
  After registration (online or by mobile), pick up a bicycle at any Nextbike location, and drop the bicycle off at the same or any other Nextbike spot. A map of pickup and drop-off points can be found here (click 'Wachau' for Melk); a brochure with map is available for download.

Taxi

• Taxi Gugler

  phone: +43 2752-52358

• Taxifunk Stumpfer

  phone: +43 2752-22022

• Taxi-Funk-Türke

  phone: +43 2752-52316

• Melk Benedictine Abbey

  phone: +43 2752-555-232
  address: Abt-Berthold-Dietmayr-Straße 1
  The must-see in Melk. The abbey is built on a bluff overlooking the Danube River to the northwest and the town center to the south. Most of the design of the present abbey (a reconstruction started in 1702) was by the architect Jakob Prandtauer. The 200m-long Kaisergang (Imperial Corridor and Abbey Museum) is decorated with portraits of Austrian rulers. The Marmorsaal (Marble Hall) contains pilasters coated in red marble; a richly painted allegorical picture on the ceiling is the work of Paul Troger. The Bibliothek (Library), rising two floors, again with a Troger ceiling, contains some 80,000 volumes. The Stiftskirche (Abbey Church), with its 200-ft dome and symmetrical twin towers, dominates the abbey complex and emphasizes its sacred purpose. Damaged by fire in 1947, the church is now almost completely restored, even to the gold-bullion gilding of statues and altars.

• Abbey Park and Baroque Garden PavilionOriginally designed as a Baroque park in 1750, and replanted in 1822 as an English garden.

Stadtmuseum Melk

phone: +43 2752 52307-112

address: Linzer Straße 3-5

Built in 1792 by the Viennese architect Franz Wipplinger, the building now houses a collection of prehistoric artifacts from the region, as well as a photographic archive and library. Special exhibits change annually.

Town Hall

address: Rathaus Platz 11

Built in 1575.

Haus am Stein

address: Kremser Straße 2

Built in the 15th century, this is the oldest building in Melk. The building is a private residence but can be appreciated from the outside.

Accordion Museum

phone: +43 2752 514 89, +43 664 431 70 25

address: Sterngasse 19

The accordion was invented in Vienna in 1829, and since then became popular around the world. This private museum has 250 accordions, including some very rare and eccentric pieces, with the oldest dating from 1860.

KZ-Gedenkstätte Melk

phone: +43 2752 51 888

address: Schießstattweg 8

From April 1944 until liberation in April 1945 this site was a concentration camp, operated as a branch of the main camp in Mauthausen. Approximately 5,000 Jews lost their lives here. The former crematorium has been preserved as a memorial.

Schallaburg Castle

phone: +43 2754 6317-0

address: Schallaburg 1

A well-preserved German Renaissance castle, on a site occupied since the Roman occupation; the foundation dates to the Romanesque period. Special architectural features include the courtyard with terracotta figures and the Renaissance garden. The building is now a museum with specially-themed, annually rotating exhibits.

Gugler Forum Melk

phone: +43 2752 50050 0

address: gugler print & media, Auf der Schön 2, Pielach

This graphic design agency hosts special solo artist exhibits three times a year from the contemporary Austrian art world. Artists are selected by an independent jury. A restaurant and café are onsite.

• WachbergThis 285m hill is on the eastern outskirts of Melk, and has great views of the Abbey and the river.

• Hotel Restaurant zur Post

  phone: +43 2752 523 45
  address: Linzer Straße 1

• Hotel Restaurant Stadt Melk

  phone: +43 2752 52475
  address: Hauptplatz 1
  A well-established restaurant. Reservations can be made online.

• Stiftrestaurant Melk

  phone: +43 2752 52 555
  address: Abt-Berthold-Dietmayrstrasse 3
  Operated by the Melk Abbey.

• Hotel zur Post

  phone: +43 2752 523 45
  address: Linzer Straße 1
  Nonsmoking throughout the hotel, free Wi-Fi, pets accepted. A bar-restaurant is onsite.

• Hotel Stadt Melk

  phone: +43 2752 52475
  address: Hauptplatz 1
  Nonsmoking throughout the hotel, free Wi-Fi, pets accepted. A bar-restaurant is onsite.

• Gasthof Goldener Stern

  phone: +43 2752 52214
  address: Sterngasse 17
  A family-run hotel, in a 15th-century house. Has an onsite restaurant.

The following sights are all within a 20km radius of Melk.

• Maria Taferl Sanctuary

  phone: +43 7413 278
  address: Maria Taferl 1
  This unusual site has both a pre-Christian sacrificial stone and a Catholic sanctuary. According to legend, a carved Pietá was placed at an oak tree in thanksgiving for a miraculous healing; eventually the site was associated with miraculous sightings of the Virgin Mary. The oak tree was burned in 1755, and the current building dates from the Baroque period. The Celtic sacrificial stone (Opferstein) is located in front of the church; the stone balustrade surrounding it dates from the 18th century.

• Treasury of the Maria Taferl Sanctuary

  phone: +43 7413 278-27
  Votive offerings, paintings, and liturgical vestments are on display, as well as the cope worn by the Empress Elisabeth with her wedding dress.

Artstetten Castle

phone: +43 7413 8006-0

address: Schlossplatz 1, Artstetten

Castle, museum, and final resting place of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 sparked WWI. Documents and artifacts from his life are on display, as well as his personal collections, with rotating exhibits.

Oskar Kokoschka Haus

phone: +43 2757 7656 (during opening hrs), +43 2757 2310 14 (other times)

address: Regensburger Straße 29, Pöchlarn

The Austrian painter was born in this house on 1 Mar 1886. The museum hosts annual summer exhibits with pieces from public and private collections, curated by the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Pilgrimage Church of Maria Langegg

phone: +43 2753 210

address: Maria Langegg 1, Maria Langegg

This is an impressive Baroque church, with frescoes by Josef Adam Mölk (1714-1794).

Explore the Wachau Valley between Melk and Krems (40 km downstream) by bike or river cruise. The valley is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.