This stunning staircase is worlds away from the utilitarian gray concrete steps in a parking garage or even the scuffed wood-paneled stairwell down to my basement. It expresses an intentional beauty that you won’t find in an average set of stairs. And as well it should, set as it is in one of Europe’s most striking monasteries.
Melk Abbey sits high on a bluff overlooking the picturesque Danube River in northeast Austria. Yellow and cream striped walls, orange roof tiles, and blue-green domes make it an eye-catching example of Baroque architecture. But abbeys like Melk are recognized for far more than their looks, having served as centers of worship as well as scholarship, culture, and education for centuries.
This spiral staircase, which Dr. Stanley photographed in 2015, joins the two most important rooms in any Benedictine abbey: the library and the chapel.
This spiral staircase, which Dr. Stanley photographed in 2015, joins the two most important rooms in any Benedictine abbey: the library and the chapel. Melk’s library is two stories high, containing some 80,000 leather-bound medieval manuscripts, many hand-written. A trip up these colorful steps takes you to the church, which awes with a 200-foot-tall dome and cupola, gilt statues and altars, marble columns, and richly painted frescoes.
Looking at such beauty, I’m reminded of how we as believers are exhorted to study Scripture, meditating on its precepts, and how we are also called to corporate worship, honoring God and praising Him together with fellow brothers and sisters as part of His church. Often, one thing leads to the other—learning about God, His character, and His ways as revealed in the Word moves us almost effortlessly into worshipping Him for all He is and all He has done. The “stairs” between knowledge and worship represent our spiritual growth—an ornately decorated way leading us from where we are to where we yearn to be. Certainly, we take a step down and lose ground from time to time. But the way upward is far brighter, and it transports us to a glorious destination.
