Seitenstetten Abbey

[citation needed] In about 1180 Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg granted the abbey the extensive woodlands on the Ybbs, with the duty of setting up a cell there and celebrating divine service in perpetuity.

After a lengthy period of decline Abbot Benedikt I, formerly prior of the Schottenstift in Vienna, introduced the Melk Reforms at Seitenstetten, thus bringing about a revival in its spiritual and cultural life.

[citation needed] Thereafter the abbey was hard hit by the Hungarian disturbances associated with Matthias Corvinus, the Turkish taxes and above all the Reformation; the number of monks declined sharply.

Abbot Benedikt II Abelzhauser (1687–1717) commissioned Jakob Prandtauer (succeeded in the work by his nephew Josef Munggenast) to build the magnificent Pilgrimage Church of the Holy Trinity on the Sonntagberg.

[citation needed] Besides the major works of art and architecture mentioned previously, there are also the Romanesque Knights' Chapel (Ritterkapelle), the picture gallery, and the garden, which contains about 110 different types of rose, mostly historical.