Sonia en Route

Out of the many, many chambers in the vast halls of the Lubiaz monastery only three are fully and beautifully renovated. Their splendor requires the use of a more sophisticated word than “room”. Tall windows; ceilings adorned with scenes from the past; marble sculptures standing in every empty space by the wall. Just to imagine oneself actually living in one of these chambers requires a lot of imagination. Of course they were not living quarters; but even to dine or conduct business there would require one’s all resolve to stick to the task at hand and not get distracted admiring the walls and ceilings.

I present to you the three magnificent chambers of the monastery in the order in which you would have seen them had you personally visited the place and went on a guided tour.

The Summer Refectory:

The author of the frescoes was Michael Willmann, who created them in 1692-1693. The main rectangular fresco portrays Hercules as he struggles with various challenges to reach an ultimate prize. The surrounding 16 cameos depict symbolically different virtues and thematically are connected with the tasks of Hercules.

In the days of the Cistercian friars there would have been a long table and chairs set up in preparation for the meals. Nowadays there is a permanent exhibition which has a lot of information about the history of the monastery and the Abbey. The most interesting are the aerial views of the Abbey grounds as they show how vast is the estate.