Full Day Private Tour for St Leopold Day in Klosterneuburg

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Inclusions / Exclusions

Mobile ticket
Offered in: English
Sliding down the famous thousand bucket barrel
Private transportation
Leopoldi market stroll
Tasting of 3 Klosterneuburg wines
After the high mass there is lunch in the abbey restaurant
See the Verdun Altar
Visit Klosterneuburg abbey's museum
Visit Klosterneuburg abbey's treasury
Pontifical mass in the Klosterneuburg abbey church

Overview

This full-day private tour to Klosterneuburg, located on the right bank of the Danube, immediately north of Vienna, gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the celebrations in honour of Austria’s patron saint, St Leopold who founded Klosterneuburg Abbey in 1108 on the site where his wife’s wind-blown veil was found. St Leopold’s Day is celebrated on 15 November, the anniversary of the death of Leopold III in 1136. St Leopold’s Day has been celebrated since Leopold’s canonisation in 1485. Since 1663, St Leopold has been the national patron saint of Austria and, in particular, the patron saint of Vienna, Lower Austria and Upper Austria. The highlight of this tour is the pontifical mass in the Klosterneuburg abbey church with the Austrian composer's Anton Bruckner's Mass in D minor with the monastery choir and the monastery music orchestra. After the mass there is a meal in the abbey restaurant before you slide down the famous thousand bucket barrel and taste some wine.

Itinerary

Stift Klosterneuburg

After pickup in Vienna we drive to Klosterneuburg which is situated on the Danube north of Vienna. The ride takes about 30 minutes. The Austria’s patron saint, Saint Leopold founded Klosterneuburg Abbey in 1108 on the site where his wife’s wind-blown veil was found. The highlight of the celebrations in honour of the anniversary of St Leopold’s death on 15 November 2024 is the pontifical mass at 10 a.m. with the Mass in D minor by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner and the Abbey Choir and Orchestra in the Abbey Church of Klosterneuburg. For this mass, which is celebrated by the provost of Klosterneuburg Abbey the skull reliquary of St Leopold is solemnly brought from the tomb of St Leopold in Leopold’s Chapel to the abbey church. The high mass lasts for about 2 hours.

2 hours 30 minutes
Stiftrestaurant LEOPOLD

After the pontifical mass in the church of Klosterneuburg abbey there is lunch in the LEOPOLD monastery restaurant with preserved goose soup, Ganslgröstl and apple strudel for desert since around St Martin's day which is celebrated on the 11th of November people in Austria have goose on their menu.

2 hours
Binderstadl

Traditional barrel slide in the Binderstadl of Klosterneuburg abbey. The Binderstadl was built in 1500 and harboured the barrel bindery of Klosterneuburg abbey. On Leopold's Day people of all ages come to the Binderstadl to slide down the famous thousand buckets barrel which was built in 1704 and which the winegrowers had to climb up to pour in the wine they had to give to the abbey. Having done that they slid down the barrel.

30 minutes
Klosterneuburg

The centre of St. Leopold's Day festivities is Klosterneuburg. Initially, large banquets with dances and tournaments were held there. However, the old festival has since evolved into a funfair, the so called Leopoldi Market, where visitors can enjoy themselves after high mass in the collegiate church and after sliding down the famous thousand-bucket barrel.

30 minutes
Stift Klosterneuburg

Klosterneuburg Monastery is also the baroque home of the Verdun Altar, named after its creator Nikolaus of Verdun, one of the most important artworks of the Middle Ages that was completed in 1181. The Altar comprises a total of 51 enamelled panels arranged in three horizontal layers, corresponding to the epochs of the history of salvation. It was the first work of the High Middle Ages to draw on the style of antiquity with its enamel still shining with undimmed brilliance today. The Verdun Altar can be seen in St Leopold’s Chapel of Klosterneuburg Abbey on St Leopold's Day on the 15th of November. You get to the St Leopold’s Chapel from the Leopold court through the medieval cloister, a four-winged square complex around the cloister garden.

15 minutes
Stift Klosterneuburg

The treasury of Klosterneuburg abbey harbours the liturgical vestment and mitre worn by the priest at high mass on the anniversary of St Leopold's death on November 15 every year. Among many other items the treasury harbours also the holy crown of Austria, the Austrian archducal hat that is set with rubies, emeralds, sapphires and pearls and that has been in the treasury of Klosterneuburg Abbey since 1616. Modelled on the „holy crowns“ of Hungary (St Stephen’s Crown) and Bohemia (Wenceslas Crown), it was also intended to be a „holy crown“ and thus an absolute symbol of power. The archducal hat is associated with a saint, namely the founder of Klosterneuburg monastery and patron saint of Austria, St Leopold. The hat was only allowed to be brought to Vienna for the inauguration of a new archduke the last time in 1835 for Emperor Ferdinand I. The hat made its last official appearance in 1989 at the funeral of Zita, the last Empress of Austria.

15 minutes
Stift Klosterneuburg

The Klosterneuburg Abbey Museum is located in the so-called Archducal Rooms on the 2nd floor of the Imperial Wing. It offers a cross-section of the abbey's collections where the collection of late Gothic panel paintings is of supra-regional importance. Of equal importance is the Babenberg family tree (1489/92), a triptych no less than 8 metres wide, which was originally placed at the tomb of St Leopold to inform pilgrims. The huge painting was commissioned by Klosterneuburg Abbey after the canonisation of Leopold III in 1485 in order to familiarise the people with the new patron saint and his family history.

1 hour
Vinothek Stift Klosterneuburg

Towards the end of the St Leopold’s Day tour to Klosterneuburg abbey you get the chance to taste some of Klosterneuburg’s abbey’s wines in the ambience of a historic wine cellar of the 13th century. Klosterneuburg Abbey has been growing wine since it was founded in 1108. The vineyards are located in selected sites in Klosterneuburg, Vienna, Gumpoldskirchen and Tattendorf. While the Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc grape varieties are cultivated in Klosterneuburg, the Viennese Gemischter Satz is the main variety grown in the Viennese vineyards in Kahlenbergerdorf and Nussberg. The indigenous specialities Zierfandler and Rotgipfler are cultivated in the vineyards of Gumpoldskirchen, and the estate’s famous red wines, especially St. Laurent, mature in Tattendorf. The estate’s bottle-fermented sparkling wines are in a class of their own. We will be 30 minutes wine tasting. After that you are brought back to Vienna which takes about 30 minutes.

1 hour

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Free Cancellation

February 08100% refund

February 09No refund

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

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