Weltenburg Abbey (Kloster Weltenburg) is a Benedictine monastery in Weltenburg near Kelheim on the Danube in Bavaria, Germany. The abbey is situated on a peninsula in the Danube, in a section of the river valley called the Weltenburg Narrows (otherwise known as the Danube Gorge).
By around 45 AD the Weltenburg area was the starting point of the Via iuxta Danuvium – the Roman military and border road which followed the south bank of the Danube upstream to Brigobannis, the limes fort near Hüfingen. For a long time this road was the most important east–west route north of the Alps. At Mertingen (Sumuntorium) this route met the Via Claudia Augusta from northern Italy. There was already a settlement above the monastery on the Frauenberg in prehistoric times. Archaeological finds and excavations suggest that a Roman military station was constructed there.
In addition to its traditional duties of hospitality the abbey has pastoral responsibility for two parishes. It is also active in farming and in adult education, and hosts conferences and lectures as well as concerts. The campus is open to the public except for the section reserved for the monks themselves.
Weltenburg Abbey brewery (Weltenburger Klosterbrauerei) is by some reckonings the oldest monastic brewery in the world, having been in operation since 1050, although the title is disputed by Weihenstephan Abbey. Weltenburger Kloster Barock Dunkel was given the World Beer Cup award in 2004, 2008 and 2012 as the best Dunkel beer in the world. One wing of the abbey which faces the Danube river houses a large restaurant on the ground floor operated by a tenant. The traditional Bavarian menu includes the abbey’s cheese and beer, and guests are also served in the monastery courtyard, which houses a large open-air biergarten during the warmer months.
[caption id="attachment_224331" align="aligncenter" width="590"] European Museum of the Year Award[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) is presented each year by the European Museum Forum (EMF) under ...
