Monastery of St. Florian in Austria
Rating: 7,7/10 (600 votes)  St. Florian's Monastery is one of the largest and oldest monasteries in Austria. It is located about 20 kilometers southwest of Linz. The monastery was named after Saint Florian. He was a Christian martyr who drowned in the Enns River in 304 BC. Believers believe that he protects their homes from fires and floods. A monastery was erected over the saint's grave. Until now, the relics of St. Florian rest in the monastery and attract a large number of pilgrims from all over the world. Since 1071 the monastery belongs to the Augustinian order. Near the monastery walls, the village of St. Florian was created. On the site where the monastery is located in ancient times, there was a Romanesque church, which burned down in 1235, then a Gothic church was built. In 1683 - 1708 it was rebuilt in the Baroque style according to the architectural project of Carlo Antonio Carlone. After his death, construction was supervised by Jacob Prandtauer. In the middle of the 19th century, the famous church composer Anton Bruckner served as organist in the monastery. After his death, he was buried in the monastery church under the organ. Also on the territory of the monastery you can visit the room where Anton Bruckner lived for more than 10 years. The library of the monastery contains about 140 thousand books and manuscripts of the Middle Ages. The walls of the library are decorated with frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonti. An equally valuable and interesting part of the monastery is the art gallery, where the works of artists of the Danube school are presented, including Albert Altdorfer. At the entrance to the courtyard of the monastery there is an eagle fountain, which is more than 500 years old. This fountain is very popular with tourists. The monastery has a boarding school for boys of the Florian choir, which consists of 40 singers.     
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