Admont

Admont, Styria, market town in the district of Liezen, alt. 640 m, pop. 2,848, area 75.96 km²; biseasonal tourist town (49,328 overnight stays) in the valley basin around the midpoint of the River Enns, western entrance to the Gesäuse Valley. - Provincial centre for people with disabilities, Federal Institute of Alpine Agriculture, collegiate secondary school. Forestry and timber processing (sawmills), gypsum mining (Kematen); Admont Musiksommer (summer music festival). - One of the oldest settlements in Styria (first documented in 859 as Ademundi vallis); Benedictine monastery founded in 1074 (oldest monastery in Styria) by Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg. Romanesque basilica (1121), 1276-1286 Gothic choir, changed to Baroque style 1615-26 and 1742-1776, church with two 72 m towers rebuilt after fire (1869); monastery closed down 1939-1945. The Baroque monastery library was built around 1774 by J. Hueber according to J. G. Hayberger's design; ceiling frescoes by B. Altomonte 1776, limewood statues by J. T. Stammel, including "Die vier letzten Dinge" ("The Four Last Things", 1760); monastery library contains 150,000 volumes, 1,100 manuscripts and 900 incunabula, making it the largest monastery library in the world. Treasury and altar paraphernalia chamber. Monastery also has art history and natural science collections; old monastery forge (1764) with collection of wrought-iron art. There are also a number of old buildings in the market town ("Hühnerspital", "Lürzerhaus", "Hofrichterhaus"), Protestant church (1929/1930), town hall (1736). Schloß Röthelstein (1655-1657), a palace on the slope of the Monastery Hill, is now a youth hostel. Frauenberg pilgrimage church (1683-1687) by C. A. Carlone; rich, figurative decorations by J. T. Stammel.

Further reading: R. List, Stift Admont 1074-1974, 1974; J. Tomaschek, Benediktinerstift Admont, 1988; R. Scheb, Admont, eine Regionalgeographie, master's thesis, Graz 1990.