Photo © Gerd Neuhold

On the occasion of the awarding of the European Heritage Label and as a cooperation event with the Creative Europe project “Culinary Heritage of the Cistercians”, Rein Abbey and the market town of Gratwein-Straßengel hosted an event on 27. and September 28, 2024 for the official celebration of the awarding of the EKS seal to Rein Abbey and the “Culture and Cuisine” day. For the dinner at the EKS celebration, the team led by Prof. Dr. Michael Brauer (project partner University of Salzburg) created a historical aldermen’s banquet from the 17th century for invited guests exclusively for this occasion. As it turned out during the research, the cooking back then was surprisingly exotic, with spices such as cinnamon, turmeric and ginger. On Saturday, the Stiftshof opened its doors to the general public to introduce interested visitors to the culture of the Cistercians with products, delicacies (e.g. fish dumplings or lard pastries made according to historical recipes) and stories from their regions.

There were also guided tours of the monastery landscape and the monastery itself, as well as a special program for children and young people as part of the Cisterscapes Visitation Tour. One highlight was the view through the VR glasses, which gave visitors a “3D insight” into the life of a Cistercian monk. This offer was developed by the Czech project partner Žďár nad Sázavou Monastery in collaboration with the University of Brno.