The Melk monastery was founded in 1089. Today's breathtaking Baroque architecture, built between 1702 and 1736, has exquisite murals and a library containing countless medieval manuscripts. Due to its fame and academic value, the monastery of Merk was spared and escaped the destruction of the Napoleonic Wars when Joseph II dissolved the Austrian monastery in 1780-1790. The amalgamation of Deau in 1938 resulted in the Nazis nationalizing most of the schools and monasteries.