Melk (German pronunciation: [mɛlk] ⓘ; older spelling: Mölk) is a city in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube.

'[3] The area around Melk was given to Leopold I, Margrave of Austria, in the year 976 to serve as a buffer between the Magyars to east and Bavaria to the west.

The bluff which holds the current monastery held a Babenberger castle until the site was given to Benedictine monks from nearby Lambach by Leopold II, in 1089.

The Forsthaus, which accommodates the city archives and the tourist information office, is the starting point of the tour.

Behind the old bread store extends the oldest lane in Melk, the Sterngasse, which used to be the main street of the town.

Following the Nibelungenlände and passing the Salzhof, the visitor reaches the Schiffsmeisterhaus with its high water level marks on the facade.

Before the main road connects to the Rathausplatz, a tablet commemorates the great Austrian composer Anton Bruckner.

In 1950, the first official women's Austrian Chess Championship was held in Melk, the winner of which was Salome Reischer.

The co-protagonist of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose is Adso of Melk, a Benedictine novice traveling in 1327.