{"id":21291,"date":"2026-07-10T09:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T07:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/cisterscapes-visitor-center-opens-in-zwettls-old-town-hall\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T10:37:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T08:37:23","slug":"cisterscapes-visitor-center-opens-in-zwettls-old-town-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/cisterscapes-visitor-center-opens-in-zwettls-old-town-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"Cisterscapes Visitor Center Opens in Zwettl’s Old Town Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the opening of the new Cisterscapes<\/strong><\/a>visitor center in the Old Town Hall on June 25, another important milestone was reached for the municipality of Zwettl, Zwettl Abbey, and the entire region. The visitor center brings the Zwettl monastic landscape to life in a modern and interactive way and will serve as a starting point for exploring the region\u2019s European cultural heritage. <\/p>\n

The speeches highlighted the importance of the European network Cisterscapes, which connects Europe\u2019s historic monastic landscapes. Special thanks were extended to all project partners and to those who have played a key role in developing the visitor center over the past few years\u2014above all, Abbey Archivist Dr. Andreas Gamerith and City Archivist Elisabeth Moll. <\/p>\n

Mayor and Member of the Lower Austrian State Parliament \u00d6kR Franz Mold explains: \u201cCisterscapes highlights the fact that Zwettl is part of a European network of cultural landscapes and thus plays a significant role in Europe\u2019s shared cultural heritage.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Deputy<\/p>\n

Experience “Bearskin” Digitally<\/h3>\n

The new visitor center invites visitors not only to understand these connections, but also to experience them firsthand. The modern exhibition in the Old City Hall is divided into three clearly structured rooms. <\/p>\n

The front section highlights the phenomenon of Cistercian monastic landscapes in Europe, as well as Zwettl\u2019s integration into the international Cisterscapes network and its collaboration with European partner monasteries.<\/p>\n

The central room is primarily dedicated to the ponds and the European Cultural Heritage Label, presented in a multimedia format. At the touch of a button, visitors can access selected films that illustrate the importance of pond farming and the role of Zwettl Abbey as one of the earliest pioneers of carp pond farming in the Waldviertel region. The children\u2019s corner invites the youngest visitors to explore the monastery landscape through play. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A special highlight awaits in the rear exhibition room: the digital \u201cBear Skin,\u201d the founding charter of Zwettl Abbey. Selected pages of this historic document are brought to life using modern technology\u2014allowing visitors, for example, to witness Hadmar I on a horseback procession. At the opening, this experience was complemented by a VR station where visitors could virtually immerse themselves in the world of the Waldviertel\u2019s carp ponds. There, visitors \u201cswam\u201d alongside the fish and experienced the fish harvest from a completely new perspective\u2014an immersive presentation developed by the Lower Austrian<\/abbr> Pond Farmers\u2019 Association. <\/p>\n

With the new visitor center, Zwettl now has another attractive venue where history, nature, and culture are presented in an innovative way. At the same time, the exhibition serves as the ideal starting point for exploring the unique monastery landscape right on site. <\/p>\n

Hours of Operation<\/h3>\n

Mon<\/abbr>., Tue<\/abbr>., Wed<\/abbr>. 8:00 a.m.\u20133:30 p.m. <\/p>\n

Thu<\/abbr>. and Fri.<\/abbr>, 8:00 a.m.\u20135:00 p.m. <\/p>\n

Additionally, from May through the end of October:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms.<\/abbr> 1:00 p.m.\u20134:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sat.<\/abbr>, Sun.<\/abbr>, and holidays, 10:00 a.m.\u20134:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/V3UzkbGsK-g<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the opening of the new Cisterscapesvisitor center in the Old Town Hall on June 25, another important milestone was reached for the municipality of Zwettl, Zwettl Abbey, and the entire region. The visitor center brings the Zwettl monastic landscape to life in a modern and interactive way and will serve as a starting point<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[306],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zwettl-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21291"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21411,"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21291\/revisions\/21411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cisterscapes.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}