Abbey Museum
The Augustinian Abbey of Neustift is one of the largest and culturally most important monasteries of the Alpine region. In its museum it presents valuable art treasures from the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. Highlights of the collection include the Late Gothic altar paintings from the abbey church and the exquisitely illuminated manuscripts from the monastery’s own scriptorium.
The bowl and staff used by the beatified Bishop Hartmann of Brixen serve as a reminder of the abbey’s founder. Portraits of prelates, liturgical vessels and vestments as well as rare altar hangings with straw appliqués testify to Neustift’s glorious Baroque period. Scientific instruments, maps and globes draw attention to the canons’ academic interests.
In 2020/21 the museum, which was installed in the 1990s, was extended with what was originally the monastery coach house. The school tradition of more recent times and the history of the abbey as an economic enterprise are presented in two new museum rooms with the help of touch screens and an overhead audio installation. The extension building is also decorated with two monumental works of art by the Vorarlberg artist Paul Renner.
Visitors to the museum also have access to the most important historical rooms in the monastery: the church with its Late Baroque interior, the cloisters with their Gothic frescoes, the famous Library Hall and the Chinese Cabinet from the Rococo era that was discovered in 2020/21.
Further information about opening times and entrance fees can be found here.
Contact for academic inquiries/photo orders
Dr. Hanns-Paul Ties – Museum curator
Museum of Novacella Abbey
Via Abbazia 1
39040 Varna (BZ)
+39 0472 836 189
