Medieval Melk

Following the foot of the hill beneath the abbey, Sterngasse is Melk’s oldest street. It remained undamaged in the great town fire of 1847. The courtyards of the houses, many of which go back to the Middle Ages, offer fascinating views of the abbey.

The name medilica is mentioned for the first time in 831, in a document certifying a donation by Charlemagne to the monastery at Herrieden. At the time, in 791, the Franks went to war against the Avars and built a strategic border fortress on the current site of the abbey.

In 976 Emperor Otto II awarded the castle to Margrave Leopold I, and Melk became the residence and burial ground of the first Babenbergs. Henry I had the incorrupt corpse of St Coloman brought to Melk in 1014. Leopold II invited the Benedictines to Melk in 1089.

Situated on the Danube and the old imperial road, Melk became an important centre of trade. It was the seat of a toll and customs office and the centre of numerous guilds. In 1256 King Ottokar II confirmed Melk’s status as a market town.