St Paul's Abbey, Lavanttal
A Benedictine abbey in Carinthia holding one of the largest private art and manuscript collections in Austria.
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St Paul was founded in 1091 by Engelbert of Spanheim, dissolved by Joseph II in 1782, and refounded in 1809 by Benedictines expelled from St Blasien in the Black Forest - who arrived bringing their library and collections with them, which is why a rural Carinthian abbey holds material of European weight. The holdings run to something over a hundred and eighty thousand volumes with early manuscripts and incunabula, along with paintings attributed to or associated with Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Kremser Schmidt and others, coins, textiles and a natural history cabinet, presented in a museum wing with a large annual themed exhibition. The Romanesque church survives with frescoes. The abbey runs a grammar school and calls itself the treasure house of Carinthia, which for once is not overstated.
What you actually see
- A transplanted library - collections brought from St Blasien by refounding monks in 1809.
- Old master paintings - works associated with Dürer, Rubens and Van Dyck.
- A Romanesque church - twelfth-century fabric with surviving frescoes.
- A yearly themed exhibition - the museum wing's changing large show.
When to go
April to October; the museum has seasonal hours. Half a day.
Honest expectations
The museum closes in winter and the annual exhibition changes what is shown. Attributions on some paintings are debated. Much of the abbey is a working school and closed.
Nearby
Wolfsberg and the Lavanttal are north; the Styrian border is east.
What to pack for St Paul's Abbey, Lavanttal
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
