Vienna: Mekhitarist Culture Guided Tour & Liqueur Tasting

Discover the tradition of the Mekhitarists on a guided tour of Armenian culture in Vienna. Enter the Mekhitarist church and explore a library of ancient texts before finishing with a liqueur tasting.
The tour will begin with an introduction to the history of the Mekhitarist Congregation in Vienna, recovered from bygone days.

Your learned monk will highlight the Church Maria Schutz built-in 1874 replacing the old Cappuccine one. Your tour will continue into the interior of the church before venturing through the library and museum of the monastery. Here your guide will point out the outstanding altar painting showing St Mary’s protection of Armenia, painted by Camillo Sitte and a particularly remarkable piece of the altar dedicated to St Gregory the Illuminator, designed by Theophil von Hansen, the architect of the Austrian Houses of Parliament in Vienna. From here you will proceed into the Loretto-Chapel holding the baroque miraculous picture "Mary with the Rose” that fortunately was rescued intact from the perils of the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683.

Go on and pass the Refectory, marvel at the most impressive element in the refectory is the monumental painted by Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld "The Feeding of the Five Thousand”.

Your tour will continue on to the Mekitharists Museum and Library: Dive into the fascinating world of the Mekhitharis Library and discover one of the most outstanding collections in the world: more than 2,800 Armenian manuscripts and more than 170,000 volumes of ancient and modern Armenian publications and the largest collection of Armenian newspapers and magazines found in the Western world. We'll accompany you through the various exhibitions of the museum and your guide tell you more about the special features of the Mekhitharis numismatic collection of coins (10,000 Armenian and 20,000 from other countries), ceramics, carpets, and other items, mainly of Armenian production. The gallery contains valuable paintings by Armenian artists, among which there are three paintings by Aivazovsky.

Later you'll be redirected towards the part of the Congregation's complex, that produces the famous Mechitharine liqueur. Here some of the tricks on the elaboration will be revealed to you. You'll be informed about the production of the liquor showing the technology, equipment, and products.

At the end, it includes high-quality Mechitharine liqueur tasting. During it, you'll discover some of the secrets about the Mechitharine liqueur world, its unique taste, its history, its families, and the business.

To guarantee availability book as soon as possible. Early booking is worth consideration especially if you planning the trip during high season like public holidays or weekends.

This excursion you can cancel with no cost up to 48 hours before the start of the trip. If you cancel it after 48 hours or not show up on the excursion you will still be charged the full price of the activity. Being late on pick-up or departure will be considered as not showing up.