Stift Kremsmünster

About the museum

Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria founded Kremsmünster in 777 on what was then the eastern edge of his duchy; the first monks probably came from Mondsee. The medieval founding legend tells of the death of his son Gunther in a hunting accident, whose tombstone is preserved in the abbey church. After Tassilo's fall, Charlemagne confirmed the foundation. A community of Benedictine monks still lives here today, who also run the abbey grammar school founded in 1549.

After crises during the Reformation, the monastery flourished from the early 17th century, during which the complex acquired its Baroque appearance over some 150 years: the Gallery Library of the 1680s, the Kaisersaal (Imperial Hall), the Fischkalter with its arcaded ponds and the Fig House built around 1640. Between 1749 and 1758 the Observatory, the "Mathematical Tower" almost 50 metres high, was built; the weather has been recorded there daily since 1762.

The collections have grown over centuries out of the monks' zeal for research and collecting. The art collections in the Kaisersaal wing show paintings, sculptures, the armoury and the treasury with the Tassilo-Liutpirc Chalice, made around 780. In the Observatory, the natural history museum extends over several floors from fossils and minerals through taxidermy to physical and astronomical instruments, including a sextant by Johannes Kepler and a large collection of globes. The library comprises around 230,000 volumes, of which about 50,000 are in the Baroque halls.

Highlights

• Tassilo-Liutpirc Chalice (around 780)
• Codex Millenarius and the Baroque Gallery Library
• Observatory with natural history collections and Kepler's sextant
• Kaisersaal and art collections with the elephant chair and Maximilian I's hunting cutlery
• Baroque Fischkalter
• Observation terrace of the Observatory

Permanent exhibitions

• Kunstsammlungen und Schatzkammer – Paintings and sculptures from six centuries, cabinet of curiosities and armoury, and the Imperial Room with the Tassilo-Liutpirc Chalice – part of the abbey tour.
• Sternwarte – Naturhistorisches Museum – In the Baroque "Mathematical Tower", the floors lead from fossils and minerals through animals and cultural history to telescopes, globes and the observation terrace.
• Stiftsbibliothek – Baroque Gallery Library of the 1680s with around 50,000 volumes in the halls and precious manuscripts such as the Codex Millenarius.

Founded

777

Operated by

Benediktinerstift Kremsmünster

Admission & discounts

The prices stated apply to the abbey tour (art collections, Kaisersaal, library, Fischkalter) and to the Observatory tour respectively.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Only the Kaisersaal and the Abbots' Gallery can be reached by lift; the art collections, library and the Baroque Observatory (no lift) are not accessible. Accessible large car park P1 and disabled parking spaces at P2 in front of the Eichentor. Animals may not be brought in.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Playground / play area

Educational tours for school classes, including a puzzle rally through the Observatory. Several playgrounds on the abbey grounds (including an adventure playground in the Hofgarten, a climbing wild boar at the Fig House, and rocking sheep in front of the garden pavilion).

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Stiftsschank with traditional home-style cooking (Wednesday–Sunday 10 am–11 pm), monastery shop with wine, liqueurs and books (limited until early December 2026 due to renovation: until 1 November in the temporary premises Thursday–Sunday 9 am–4 pm, closed thereafter).

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 450 guests.

Kaisersaal, Wintersaal, Apostelzimmer and Green Salon in the Kaisersaal wing, theatre hall (300 seats) with foyer and Kassettensaal, and the Fig House (up to around 280 people with theatre seating, weddings up to 120 people seated at tables); packages with tours possible.

Plan your visit