Neustift monastery

Founded in 1142, the Augustinian monastery of Novacella/Neustift near Bressanone/Brixen is one of the largest and most significant in the Alpine regions, both from a cultural and historical standpoint. Numerous art treasures from the medieval and early modern-era are still preserved in the Abbey, which is well worth visiting at any time of the year. The nave, cloisters and adjoining buildings of the Romanesque monastery complex date back to the late 12th Century. At the entrance of the monastery, the Chapel of St. Michael and the imposing tower of the monastery also date back to this period. With its characteristic double-arched Romanesque windows, the western tower is visible from afar.

The Chapel of St. Michael owes its moniker, “Angel's Castle”, to its resemblance to the famous Castel Sant’Angelo on the Tiber River. Far smaller scale as compared to the papal castle in Rome, it was fortified in the late 15th Century against the threat of the Ottomans.