Augustine Monastery Saint Florian The monastery of St. Florian is an Austrian Baroque jewel and landmark of the entire region. The present-day Baroque building is the most memorable and one of the few completed Baroque monasteries - an achievement of the Italian architect Carlo Antonio Carlone and the Austrian architect Jakob Prandtauer. There, the visitor will discover the Library (about 140,000 volumes), the Imperial Marble Hall, the Emperor's Rooms (a suite of 13 splendid chambers still originally furnished) thus gaining a unique and unforgettable impression. Not only the architectural beauty is unique to the monastery, over the centuries its tradition in music has been cultivated far beyond Austria's borders. The Collegiate Church (raised to Basilica by decree of Rome in 1999) with its magnificent organ greatly influenced the life and work of the composer Anton Bruckner. The "Choirboys of St. Florian" are proud of being internationally reputed. A variety of summer concerts regularly performed in the Marble Hall demonstrates the vivid musicality, too. Apart numerous paintings of an extraordinary quality, a visit of the "Altdorfer Gallery" is highly recommended. It represents the greatest treasure of the monastery (14 paintings by Albrecht Altdorfer ordered by Provost Peter Maurer in 1518).
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