Musée de l'Abbaye

Musée de l'Abbaye Review

In the Middle Ages, Echternach was known throughout the Western world for the exquisite illumination (miniature illustrations) that accompanied the hand-copied texts produced by the Benedictine abbey's scriptorium. The original abbey is long gone, but a magnificent quadrant of abbey buildings from the 18th century remains, noble of line and classical in scale. Examples of the artwork produced in the abbey can be viewed in the Musée de l'Abbaye (Abbey Museum) in the abbey basement. The books displayed here are painstakingly executed reproductions of the originals, down to their gem-studded covers. The originals are now in various museums abroad. Even so, the exhibition provides an interesting introduction to the art of illumination in the Middle Ages.