Klosterneuburg Monastery (Klosterneuburg)

 monastery, interesting place, listed building / architectural heritage

Klosterneuburg Priory (Stift Klosterneuburg) is a Roman Catholic monastery of Augustinian Canons in Klosterneuburg, Lower Austria, just to the north of Vienna.

It was founded in 1114 by Saint Leopold (Leopold III, Margrave of Austria, a Babenberger and the patron saint of Austria) and his wife Agnes. It became a house of Augustinian Canons in 1133.

This foundation is one of the oldest and richest of its kind in Austria and owns much of the land upon which the north-western suburbs of Vienna stand.

The impressive building complex, the greater part of which was constructed between 1730 and 1834, stands on a hill rising directly from the banks of the Danube.

Older buildings still extant within the complex include the old chapel of 1318, containing Saint Leopold's tomb and the 12th century Verdun Altar. The monastery premises also include a treasury, a relic-chamber, and a library with 30,000 volumes and many manuscripts. The wine cellar contains an immense tunnel similar to the one at Heidelberg Castle in Heidelberg, Germany.