User:Sceballo/sandbox

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 * Yes the topic is relevant, as it relates to art history, but not architecture.
 * The article seems to be pretty low on content, although it is sourced very well.
 * More content could be added to improve the article as well as more interesting content.

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 * The article is stub-class on the quality scale, and mid-importance on the importance scale. It is apart of the WikiProject Anthropology
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Here are the three choices that I have been looking at.

Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers

-moderate amount of information

Melk Abbey

-Melk has the smallest amount of information so would be the best to contribute to, I will work on Melk Abbey

Ca' Rezzonico

-lots of information, least likely to contribute to

Melk Abbey (Stift Melk) is a Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk, Lower Austria, Austria, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river, adjoining the Wachau valley. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the remains of several members of the House of Babenberg, Austria's first ruling dynasty.

History
The abbey was founded in 1089 when Leopold II, Margrave of Austria gave one of his castles to Benedictine monks from Lambach Abbey. A monastic school, the Stiftsgymnasium Melk, was founded in the twelfth century, and the monastic library soon became renowned for its extensive manuscript collection. The monastery's scriptorium was also a major site for the production of manuscripts. In the fifteenth century the abbey became the centre of the Melk Reform movement which reinvigorated the monastic life of Austria and Southern Germany.

Today's Baroque abbey was built between 1702 and 1736 to designs by Jakob Prandtauer. Particularly noteworthy are the abbey church with frescos by Johann Michael Rottmayr and the library with countless medieval manuscripts, including a famed collection of musical manuscripts and frescos by Paul Troger.

Due to its fame and academic stature, Melk managed to escape dissolution under Emperor Joseph II when many other Austrian abbeys were seized and dissolved between 1780 and 1790. The abbey managed to survive other threats to its existence during the Napoleonic Wars, and also in the period following the Anschluss in 1938, when the school and a large part of the abbey were confiscated by the state.

The school was returned to the abbey after the Second World War and now caters for nearly 900 pupils of both sexes.

Since 1625 the abbey has been a member of the Austrian Congregation, now within the Benedictine Confederation.

In his novel The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco named one of the protagonists "Adso of Melk" as a tribute to the abbey and its famous library.

Among its alumni was the nineteenth-century Austrian dramatist and short-story writer, Friedrich Halm.

Melk Abbey is also the metaphorical climax ("a peak in a mountain range of discovery") of Patrick Leigh Fermor's autobiographical account of his walking tour across pre-WW II Europe in A Time of Gifts, which includes a description of the abbey at that time.

Restoration Efforts
The first fire to impact the Melk Abbey and its invaluable library was in 1297. This left the structures destroyed. This fire, plague and famine lead to the “Melk Reform” movement. Most of the manuscripts Melk is famous for housing were saved by Monks.

The abbey that stands today, built in 1702, caught fire. This second fire marred the ornamented rooms of the abbey in 1974, leading to its restoration from 1978 to 1995. The nave of the abbey was a part of the restoration. Eight pounds of gold bullion was used to restore the statues and alters. The restoration process also focused on the church’s frescoes and brown marble columns. The Marble Hall, a popular guest attraction, was also under restored during this period. These restoration efforts leave the abbey similar to its 1740 grandeur.

Euro commemorative coin
Melk Abbey was recently selected as the main motif of a 10 euro collectors' coin: the Austrian Melk Abbey commemorative coin, minted on April 18, 2007. The obverse shows a view up to the façade of the abbey church and its two side wings from a low level. The twin baroque towers and the great dome of the church behind them can be seen. In the lower right corner the coat-of-arms of the Abbey of Melk (the crossed keys of St. Peter) can be seen.