Schlierbach brings together Baroque monastic spaces, a regional cheese-making tradition and pilgrim routes as distinct reasons to visit. The town lies on the edge of the foothills of the Alps in the Kremstal; the Cistercian abbey of the same name shapes its townscape. When planning your visit, the first question is what you would like to focus on: would you like to combine a guided tour with architecture and art, schedule a course, or get to know the region on a described pilgrimage route? The history of the organic cheese dairy and a tasting add a distinct culinary note.
Schlierbach Abbey: Baroque Spaces and Art
The abbey church was built between 1680 and 1682. Frescoes and lavish stucco decoration adorn the church interior, described as a complete Baroque work of art featuring works by the Italian Carlone family of artists, as well as local and other artists. The Baroque cloister houses the wooden Gothic Schlierbach Madonna, dating from around 1320. The library offers a different architectural impression: Carlo Antonio Carlone built it in 1712 as a cross-shaped Baroque ceremonial room with hanging domes.
A guided tour of Schlierbach Abbey includes the Bernardisaal, the library and the abbey church, as well as the cloister with the Schlierbach Madonna. It also includes the Margret Bilger Gallery and a glass art viewing. Tours can be booked year-round by prior arrangement. Be sure to arrange your booking if you would like to include these rooms and sights in your stay.
Glass Art and Cheese Tradition
The Schlierbach Abbey glass-painting workshop is a modern manufactory. It preserves traditional techniques such as leaded glass, restores valuable old stained-glass windows and also uses the fusing technique. In this way, traditional conservation and another form of glassworking sit side by side—a craft focus alongside the abbey’s Baroque heritage.
The history of the Schlierbach cheese dairy dates back to St James’s Day in 1924, when Brother Leonhard founded the dairy. Its first product was Schlierbacher Schlosskäse, a delicately flavoured soft cheese with red smear rind, which remains one of the organic dairy’s most important products. The Panorama Café & Lounge serves breakfast with views across the Kremstal. A tasting of Schlierbach organic cheese specialities at the Panorama Café, renovated in 2025, can also be a pleasant way to round off your visit. Opening hours and booking details may change; check what applies to your visit in advance.
Plan Courses and Pilgrim Routes
Since 1974, the Schlierbach Abbey Education Centre has offered a varied programme of courses in creativity, religion and health. Examples include acrylic painting and sewing twisted-thread buttons. Alongside guided tours and walking routes, courses offer another distinct focus for a trip. Individual courses and dates may change; check the programme before planning your days around it.
For pilgrimage planning, two distinct route descriptions can be distinguished. The Benedikt Pilgrim Circular Route in the Kremstal branches off the Benedikt Pilgrim Route in Upper Austria at Schlierbach and runs in three day stages through the Upper Austrian Kremstal; its total length is 45 kilometres. Another named stage is N11 of the Benedikt Pilgrim Route in Upper Austria: it starts at the Cistercian Abbey in Schlierbach and ends at the Benedictine Abbey in KremsmĂĽnster.
The circular route is described by its total length and three day stages, while N11 is described by its start and end points. You can distinguish the two options by the stated scope: a 45-kilometre route in three day stages, or a stage between two monasteries. Check the route details before setting out, as they may change.
Discover more destinations: Grünburg, Rossleithen, St. Pankraz, Haselböckau, Edlbach, Oberschlierbach, Kirchdorf an der Krems, Steinbach an der Steyr.
Back to the main travel overview: Kirchdorf an der Krems.
