Guesthouse St. Georg in Weltenburg Abbey

SPONSORED STORY In the evening after Compline, when the duties of the day are done and Frater Matthiasand hisconfreres have received their blessing for the night, Weltenburg sinks into silence. The noise of the world, or rather of the beer garden, has fallen silent.

Anyone who steps out of the baroque monastery building with the St. George guesthouse onto the gravel beach on the Danube can sense why the first monks founded a monastery in the Danube gorge as early as 617. The site at the Danube gorge near Kelheim is magical. It is surely no coincidence that people have always settled here since prehistoric times.

Hospitality of the Benedictines

All travellers are welcome here, whether they are looking for  contemplation, education or leisure. "Hospitality is one of the basic rules of St Benedict," Frater Matthias explains the purpose of the guesthouse, "meeting people is beautiful, because with every guest we receive Christ."

Some guests are surprised to see a monk in habit at the reception, they were expecting a normal hotel. And that's what they get, a secular team supports friar Matthias in the guesthouse.

The breakfast buffet, on the other hand, is heavenly. A simple crossrefers to the faith of the hosts in the 57 plainly modern rooms with bare wooden floors and exposed roof beams. The monastery tavern and beer garden are run by a secular manager on behalf of the monks.

Important Baroque Church

Of course, the Benedictines also offer a lot beyond eating, drinking and sleeping. Father Michael tries to answer spiritual questions, and those who want to further their education can choose from a wide range of Catholic courses. Making icons, lime painting and fresco are so popular that the workshops are quickly booked up. Singing in the choral course inspires the soul, the art history-theology seminar and the silent retreat challenge the spirit. 

"A guided tour in our monastery church can open the senses to spirituality"

"A guided tour in our monastery church can open the senses to spirituality," enthuses Frater Matthias. The monastery church of St. George by the brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam is one of the most important Baroque sacred buildings in Europe. The depictions in gold and marble of the struggle between good and evil and eternal communion with God in heaven enchant visitors from all over the world.

Passion for the Organ

For Frater Matthias, it is always a special experience when he is allowed to play the historic organ. Church music was his hobby even before he entered the monastery. The "gift of God" – that's what the name Matthias means in Hebrew – was bestowed on the monasteryin 2019, when the former office clerk and IT specialist from Langquaid made the perpetual profession. He was particularly attracted by the regular daily routine of life as a monk.

"I thought carefully about whether I really wanted to let go of my professional and social life," says the host of the monastic guesthouse, "but actually many commitments interfered with my search for God. I don't want to prefer anything to Christ, and that is only possible within the fixed framework of monastic life. And my professional skills are just as much in demand in the monastery as outside."

Beer Garden or Boat Trip?

The "Weltenburg" enterprise is huge and testifies to how successfully the monks have managed according to the Benedictine law that has been in force for 1500 years, “You shall live by your hands' work.” An important source of income has always been the brewery. "Barock Dunkel" and the "Weltenburger Asam Bock" are among the best beers in the world. They export to more than twenty countries. It tastes best under the chestnut trees of the monastery beer garden and in the baroque monastery tavern in Weltenburg. 

Many thousands of visitors are attracted by the monastery's stunning location. The Weltenburg narrows are among the hundred most beautiful biotopes in Bavaria. The barge of a riverboat. is the most impressive place to admire the river landscape with its bizarre limestone formations.

The "Three Hostile Brothers", the "Robber Rock" and "Napoleon's Travel Case" rise up to 80 metres out of the floods. The boatmen spin their spooky to cheerful stories to the imaginative names of the rocks. In the silence of the monastery they have a lasting effect.