Roofs for the ages

This massive property demands the use of superlatives. When the final construction phase is completed in 2018, 18,000 m² of roof area will have been renovated. 630,000 centuries-old plain tiles will have been replaced by an equal number of new tiles.

This quantity requires approximately 100 trucks, which must work their way up the steep hill while carrying 1,800 pallets. With numbers like these, it is fitting that work, reading, and prayer have taken place under these roofs for almost 1,000 years. This monastery, the neighbouring Melk monastery, the old town of Krems and the cultural landscape of Wachau have been part of the UNESCO World Culture and Natural Heritage list since 2000.


We are speaking of the Göttweig Benedictine monastery, where the roof was renovated with custom-made CREATON 'AMBIENTE' plain tiles in the first and second construction phases.


New tiles for old

The monastery's first abbot, Hartmann I, took office 920 years ago. Today, the 65th abbot, Columban Luser, leads the monastery. There have been fewer changes at the 'peak' of the abbey church and monastery buildings. The last roofing took place during reconstruction of the monastery between 1720 and 1740, following the great fire.


Since then, there has only been repair work, but never completely new roofing. However, just under 300 years later, the old tiles were increasingly showing age-related weakness. General roof renovation was imperative. Naturally, it should have the quality of state-of-the-art, industrially produced tiles, but look old.


The entire Göttweig roof renovation project extends over a six-year period, divided into six construction phases. The contract for the carpentry and roofing work was awarded to Hintenberger Dächer und Holzbau GmbH, a tradition-rich roofing trades company based in Krems, Austria and founded in 1923.
Construction managers Rudolf Hochleitner and Ralph Kalchhauser and their journeymen went to work section by section, removing the historical roof tile, building a temporary roof, repairing the roof structure where necessary, and installing new battens.


With hooks and timbers

Ladder hooks were mounted at regular intervals over the entire length of the roof for future inspection work. With a frequently visited tourist magnet like the Göttweig monastery, safety requirements arise that conflict with the historic issue of monument preservation. Namely, installation of snow guards to prevent snow falling from the roof.


The compromise between monument preservation and personal safety: Snow guards were only installed where high levels of foot traffic could be expected. However, CREATON log snow guards were mounted above traffic routes.


Monument preservation par excellence

It is well known that a building's decay begins at the roof. This is also true for protection. In this respect, the new CREATON roof offers the best guarantee that the almost 1000-year old, UNESCO world cultural heritage site of the Göttweig monastery will be preserved for centuries to come.

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