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Salzburg Eisenstad
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“ Mirror Lake” is the highlight along the Reiteralm hiking path.
Klagenfurt
A place where God lives …
St. Benedict(* 480 – 547) sought to inspire others to lead a spiritual life by founding a number of abbeys during the 6th century. Generally built in clearly visible locations, abbeys today are the embodiment of the search for God. However, we, the Benedictines, are not unworldly but rather monks of today‘ s world. And of course, we continue our search. In chapter 58 of the rules of our order, it says that only those who are truly searching for God may enter the abbey.
The Benedictines seek to share their faith, knowledge and culture with mankind – Admont abbey library contains around 200,000 volumes. k.
to enjoy a clear overview. Hiking and scrambling, you gradually approach the highest tops of Styria’ s mountain world. Or you hop on a cable car, allowing your eyes to float quicker still into the distance or deep below. Above ground and below, Styria’ s highest mountain is a spectacular experience: The Dachstein serves up fantastic scenery, an edifice of which Upper Austrians as well as Styrians are equally proud since it straddles the border between both. While the Niederer Dachstein lies completely in Upper Austria, the Hoher Dachstein( elev. 2,995 meters) has one foot in both provinces.
Back in the 19th century, its southern slopes dropping down to Ramsau were famous – due to their reddish hue. These walls of Dachstein limestone rise 1,000 meters-high. Right at the mountain station of the Dachstein Glacier Lift, reachable from Ramsau, we find the Sky Walk – a magnet for visitors with room for as many as 150 people: around you – the mountain panorama of the Northern Alps; directly under you, the 250 meter cliff face of the Hunerkogel; directly above you, nothing but sky. If you prefer to exchange this exposed location with the safe seclusion of a“ cave”, we suggest heading for the mountain station of the glacier lift – just a few meters away, the mystical world of ice and snow that is the Ice Palace, along with its carved figures, reveals itself before you. The Reiteralm is known as an especially popular hiking and ski area in north-western Styria. The long-term impact that outsiders – guests, photographers, hikers – have had becomes evident from the re-christening of a lake. For around 30 years now, we only talk of the“ Spiegelsee”(“ Mirror Lake”), though its actual name is the“ Mittlerer Gasslsee”. Mirror Lake is just an easy mountain hike from the Reiteralm: When the wind is still, from its southern end you are treated to the reflection of the south face of the Dachstein. Just a brief uphill hike further and we discover the picturesque, tranquil Obersee, a small Ice Age tarn with panoramic view of the Dachstein and Bischofsmütze, nestled in the uppermost cirque at the foot of the Rippeteck.
Admont – a place where God lives One such place where God is being sought is our own Admont abbey. At least, that‘ s what we are often told by guests, who spend single days or weeks here, perhaps participating in spiritual retreats, courses, conferences, etc. Today, the library is considered the world‘ s largest abbey library. The large number of books is indicative of not only the accumulated knowledge of the monks in the past, but also the continuously new questions about God posed over the centuries, especially during the Enlightenment.
Kafarnaum Spiritual Center Today, the abbey has 27 monks, and more than half of them are younger than 50. With Admont as their base, the monks take care of 26 parishes, a high school with around 600 students, and the“ House of Encounter” in Graz, and also play a role in a variety of commercial businesses. Continuing to manage their own forest is among the pillars of the abbey‘ s work. A modern, contemporary museum has inspired far beyond Austria, and combines spirituality with art. The“ Kafarnaum” spiritual center has existed since 2011. Our goal is to provide people with time and space to return to who they truly are.
P. Jeremias Müller OSB, * Born in 1969 in Saarland, ordained to the priesthood in 1997, training as a Gestalt therapist, priest, spiritual youth counselor, spiritual leader of the Spiritual Center as well as the abbey high school.
Benediktinerabtei Admont 8911 Admont www. stiftadmont. at Tel: + 43( 0) 3613 2312-635 www. gzk-stiftadmont. at( Spiritual Center)