Austria Cloister of the Heiligenkreuz Abbey

The square cloister is the center of the monastery complex, as it connects all the important rooms. A monastery is designed as a miniature city: the monks had to feed and support themselves, practicing all kinds of crafts within the cloister. Today, the monks are more involved in pastoral care and education. The cloister is built in the Romanesque-Gothic style and was completed and consecrated in its present form in 1240 under Duke Frederick II.

The first part of the cloister that you see is the “Tomb Entrance.” Along the wall stand tombstones of benefactors who, in the Middle Ages, endowed the monastery with land, vineyards, or other gifts, thereby ensuring the monks’ livelihood. Out of gratitude, these benefactors were buried in the cloister.

Take a guided tour

see map