Stift Millstatt Kreuzgang

The Millstätter Kreuzgang stands beside the former Benedictine monastery in Millstatt on the shore of Millstätter See. Built in the 12th century, it forms a four-sided cloister around a grassy courtyard that once held the monastery’s well. The present stone vaults date from the 15th century, with star-shaped ribs in most wings and spring vaults in the south wing. Its sculptural decoration from the 1160s is regarded as one of the richest ensembles of Romanesque carving in Austria. The north-east gate shows late-Gothic remodelling with figures of Saint Paul and the Archangel Michael. Inside the vaults rest two male atlantes, symbols of pagan forces, held fast by female figures representing the Church. The east wing’s outer arcade displays exceptional Romanesque capitals crowded with monsters, beasts and foliage. Visitors walk beneath the vaulted passages and see fragments of 15th- and 16th-century frescoes, including a Madonna and Child painted about 1430. The once-blocked Viererarkaden now open onto the courtyard, their central portal marking the monks’ chapter house entrance. The floor slopes down to the exit, paved in modern marble, while the lion-and-woman capital in the south arcade remains a unique curiosity.