The search for a lost paradise

40 years after the first provincial exhibition (“Jakob Prandtauer and his art circle”) and 20 years after the most successful exhibition to date (“Austria in the time of Emperor Joseph II”), Melk Abbey hosted a provincial exhibition for the third time in 2000.

This exhibition was an event of superlatives, wrote Governor Erwin Pröll in the catalog: “Not only because it thematically spans the cultural history of the Christian West, but also because the renovated and partly newly adapted abbey is both the venue and the subject of the exhibition. Exhibits from 205 museums and monasteries vividly document the theme 'The search for a lost paradise - European culture as reflected in the monasteries' and show that people's longing for paradise is unbroken, even if ideas and content have changed over the centuries and in the present day the unrestrained consumer society appears to many as paradise on earth.”

Abbot Burkhard Ellegast formulated similar thoughts: “Despite the greatest technological developments, many people are dissatisfied and unhappy. They are basically looking for meaning in their lives and yet so often remain unfulfilled. They are looking for a home and yet cannot find it because relationships don't last, egoism takes center stage and genuine togetherness cannot develop.”

“We know the great theological, philosophical and, above all, political utopias of world history that have repeatedly mobilized longings. We also know how many attempts to restore the lost paradise on earth have resulted in totalitarianism and lack of freedom - right up to our most recent past,” said Federal President Thomas Klestil in his opening speech.

This exhibition was divided into three parts: The first section was dedicated to images of paradise. For centuries, it was always the artists who translated the themes of the creation story and the fall of mankind from the language of theologians into the imagination of the faithful. Magnificently illustrated medieval manuscripts, Dante's “Divine Comedy” and sculptures - including some by Rodin - were shown to visitors.

“The search for paradise” was the theme of the second part, which focused on the lives and achievements of monks and nuns. Each order is dedicated to a different area of work - from missionary work to serving the faithful or the poor, to business, science and art. The most magnificent works of art were created in and for monasteries as a by-product of their actual activities. The palette on display at the exhibition ranged from the abbot's staff carried by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of the Cistercian order, to the Lenten crib.

The third part of the exhibition, the restored garden of Melk Abbey, gave an idea of paradise on earth. Originally reserved for the priests, it was exceptionally made accessible to visitors for this exhibition. With a great deal of imagination, it was transformed into a “Garden of Eden” and offered an experience for all the senses. The baroque cellars were also opened to visitors for the first time.

Melk Abbey