The town and Zwettl Abbey, together with their Cisterscape partners, invite you to explore the monastery landscape with all your senses this weekend. With a varied program, young and old will learn in a playful way how the Cistercians built their monasteries and shaped the surrounding landscape to this day.

Saturday, June 27, 2026

08:00 a.m.: “Treat yourself”, guided hike along the Bernhardiweg from Rosenau Castle to Zwettl Abbey (18.3 km), meeting point: inner courtyard of the castle. Please make sure you have good shoes and sufficient food for the hike. The event takes place in all weathers. Please register by June 19, 2026 with Doris Heider (+43 664 88152320, doris.heider@stift-zwettl.at).

09:00 am: “Adventure Pond” workshop at the Edelhof lake pond with experienced pond rangers, recommended for children aged 6 to 9, meeting point Edelhof bus stop, please register at https://www.multikultikreaktiv.com/anmeldung.html.

11:00 am: Family hike from Edelhof to Zwettl Abbey (approx. 2.5 km), meeting point: Edelhof bus stop

13:00 to 17:00: Cisterscapes Visitation Tour and hands-on stations in the Lindenhof of Zwettl Abbey, playfully explore the carp pond, herb garden, abbey forest and the abbey.

13:30: Opening of the new special exhibition “The Santini Scandal” with guided tour by curator Andreas Gamerith, meeting point: Fountain in the Abbey Courtyard

2:30 pm: Themed tour for children “Secret lodgers in the abbey”, meeting point: fountain in the abbey courtyard

3:30 pm: Themed tour for children “The diary of the little monk Ebro”, meeting point: fountain in the abbey courtyard

16:00: opening ceremony of the revitalized English Garden, guided walk along the “Gloriette Steig” (approx. 2.8 km), meeting point: fountain in the Abteihof

From 12 noon, master fisherman Andreas Nägel will be serving hot and cold dishes in the Lindenhof.

For organizational reasons, registration by 20 June 2026 at https://www.multikultikreaktiv.com/anmeldung.html would be desirable. You are welcome to select individual program items for your participation.

Sunday, June 28, 2026

After a festive mass (10:15 am) on the occasion of the 70th birthday of Abbot Johannes Maria Szypulski OCist, the revitalized abbey courtyard and the cloister garden will be ceremoniously opened (approx. 11:30 am). Afterwards, guests can round off the morning with an agape in the Lindenhof courtyard of Zwettl Abbey. On this day too, master fisherman Andreas Nägel will be treating guests to hot and cold dishes in the Lindenhof.

This project is funded by the Interreg Austria-Czech Republic program under the project title “ATCZ00007 CISTERSCAPES VB-Zw-ZnS”.