Special guided tours of the 1865 abbey fire

Special guided tours of the 1865 abbey fire

The Admont Benedictine Abbey invites you on a special journey through time: A special guided tour brings the dramatic fire disaster of 27 April 1865 to life. A devastating fire destroyed large parts of the market square and the abbey, claimed lives and destroyed valuable art treasures - but the world-famous abbey library was largely spared. 159 years later, impressive reports and historical sources remind us of this event. Abbey archivist P. Maximilian Schiefermüller OSB describes the catastrophe in his book "Der Brand von 1865 und der Neubau des steirischen Benediktinerstiftes Admont". The author also quotes an eyewitness to the fire, Fr. Blitmund Tschurtschenthaler: "In a short time, both rows of houses from the centre of the market to the collegiate church and also the old Amandus Church were enveloped in a sea of fire...Suddenly the cry of terror rang out: The monastery is burning!"