The purpose of the design of Sift Melk can be seen best in the library. Education and knowledge is celebrated. Countless volumes of books are arranged in multiple tiers along a room of considerable length. Classically columned buttresses and ornate Baroque decoration provides an exquisite space for learning. Natural light pours in side windows and clerestories. Above it all is a grand ceiling mural of fantastic scenes, which bring home the Benedictine value of material leading to immaterial. It gives a sense of what earthly knowledge is for; a pathway to immaterial perfection.
These grand illusionary ceiling murals are found throughout Melk abbey, indeed perhaps no site in the world surpasses this stunning Baroque technique. The Cupola of the church, a scene of heavenly bliss, may have provided inspiration for the Apotheosis of Washington found in the United States Capitol. The careful lighting for these ceiling murals is crucial for pulling off the effect.
The main church receives the most complexity. Prominent in the center of the site, the church is where learning, repose, and worship all come together.
Exterior Info & Images Of Melk Abbey
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