World's Largest Monastery Library

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Admont Abbey - the world's largest monastery library © Stefan Leitner
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Ceiling fresco c Marcel Peda e1648800100168

World's Largest Monastery Library

The Admont Monastery Library is one of the great masterpieces of European Late Baroque. It combines various forms of art (architecture, frescoes, sculptures, writings, and printed works) into a cohesive unity, serving as a repository of knowledge spanning centuries.

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Admont Abbey - the world's largest monastery library © Stefan Leitner
Admont Abbey AbbotGerhard@Marcel Peda 6
Admont Abbey - Monks in the monastery library © Stefan Leitner
Admont Abbey Library cMarcel Peda 3
Ceiling fresco c Marcel Peda e1648800100168
Admont Abbey - Monks in the monastery library © Stefan Leitner
c Marcel Peda scaled
c Marcel Peda pic 3
Admont Abbey Library Marcel Peda 2
Admont Abbey - Library at night © Thomas Sattler
Admont Abbey - Monks in the monastery library © Stefan Leitner

The library hall

The late Baroque Library Hall, completed in 1776 with a dome fresco, was commissioned by Abbot Matthäus Offner (reigned 1751-1779).

Planned since around 1764 and constructed in the subsequent years, it was designed by the Austrian Baroque architect Josef Hueber (1715-1787). Hueber was committed to the ideals of the Enlightenment: "Like the mind, rooms should also be filled with light." " This colossal, tripartite space stands as the world's largest monastic library hall. The spirit of the Enlightenment is also evident in the seven ceiling frescoes created by the over 80-year-old artist Bartolomeo Altomonte (1694-1783) during the summer months of 1775 and 1776. These frescoes depict the stages of human knowledge, from thought and speech to the sciences, culminating in divine revelation in the central dome.

Prescious Treasures

On the bookshelves beneath this dome, editions of the Bible and the Church Fathers can be found, with the northern side hall housing theological literature, while the southern hall encompasses works from various other fields.The extensive sculptural artworks in the grand hall, carved from linden wood, were created by the monastery sculptor Josef Stammel (1695-1765). Particularly impressive are the 'Four Last Things,' a group of four life-sized depictions representing Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. However, they were crafted earlier than the library and stand in contrast to the enlightened concept of the architect. 

The library hall houses about 70,000 volumes while the Abbey's entire collection of books consists of about 200,000 volumes. The most valuable treasures are the more than 1,400 manuscripts (from the 8th century) and the 530 incunabula (early prints up to the year 1500).

Contemporary art in the Monastery Library

For exhibitions of contemporary art that have so far been held in our Abbey Library, see below. 

Admont Abbey Museum