Käserei Stift Schlierbach GmbH & Co KG

What Käserei Stift Schlierbach GmbH & Co KG does

Stift Schlierbach is a Cistercian monastery in Schlierbach, Upper Austria, first documented in 927 CE and re-established as a monastery in 1620. It operates as a private, monastery-owned business entity (Käserei Stift Schlierbach GmbH & Co KG) running six interlinked commercial units: an award-winning organic cheese dairy (Bio-Käserei) producing Schlierbacher Bio-Käse specialties; the Glasmalerei glass-painting workshop; the Bildungszentrum education center, which runs approximately 230 creative and cultural courses per year attended by ~1,800 participants; the Panorama Café & Lounge; a grammar school (Stiftsgymnasium, since 2020 under a separate trusteeship); and a daughter monastery in Jequitibá, Brazil. The monastery also serves 10 surrounding parishes and offers spiritual retreat stays ("Kloster auf Zeit").

The business model is multi-stream and predominantly direct-to-consumer. Revenue comes from on-site cheese retail and wholesale, café and event hospitality, course fees, guided monastery tours with cheese tasting (€18.50–€41.60 per person), cheese-wine tastings, breakfast-plus-tour packages, and group tourism packages — including a joint itinerary with Stift Kremsmünster ("Kremstaler Stift's Roas") and partnerships with group-tour platforms Gruppentouristik.com and Busreisen.com (latter designated "TOP GRUPPENZIEL 2026"). Pricing is unit-based, pay-as-you-go, and not publicly disclosed for wholesale cheese contracts. Customer segments span cultural tourists, adult learners, regional restaurants/retailers, and the local Catholic parish community; marketing is driven by ORF broadcast coverage, cultural events (OÖ Literaturfestival, concerts, organ courses), social media, and group tourism resellers.

The company is operationally stable, with recent commercial-side activity including a 2024 appointment of Karin Gondosch as Wirtschaftsdirektorin (business director), active 2026 hiring postings, new hospitality event programming (Sundowner evenings, Tapasnacht, dance nights), a virtual 3D tour of historical rooms, and the listing of office/practice space for rent within the monastery complex. There is no disclosed revenue, no AI/ML capability, and headcount is stated as 5 employees at the cheese-dairy entity level (the broader monastery is described as a "significant regional employer" across all units).

Name

Käserei Stift Schlierbach GmbH & Co KG

Legal name

Stift Schlierbach

Website

https://stift-schlierbach.at

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Käserei Stift Schlierbach GmbH & Co KG is the commercial entity of a 670+ year-old Cistercian monastery in Upper Austria, operating an organic cheese dairy, glass workshop, education center (230 courses/year, ~1,800 participants), Panorama Café, monastery tours, and parish services for cultural tourists, adult learners, and regional wholesale customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Schlierbach

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Cheese Product Sales: Direct and wholesale sales of organic cheese products produced at the monastery dairy
2. Café and Hospitality: Panorama Café & Lounge operations serving visitors and hosting events
3. Educational Courses: Creative and cultural courses offered through the Bildungszentrum, approximately 230 courses annually attended by 1800 participants
4. Cultural Tourism: Guided tours of the monastery including historical rooms, church, library, glass workshop, with cheese tasting included

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Käserei Stift Schlierbach operates an organic cheese dairy (Bio-Käserei) producing award-winning Schlierbacher Bio-Käse specialties, alongside a portfolio of monastery-based offerings including guided tours, a Panorama Café & Lounge, the Bildungszentrum creative education center offering roughly 230 courses annually, and the Glasmalerei stained-glass workshop. The operations blend traditional Cistercian heritage with modern tourism, hospitality, and retail dairy sales.

Product overview

Stift Schlierbach operates as a Cistercian monastery complex with diverse economic and cultural operations. The primary offerings include the Bio-Käserei (organic cheese dairy) producing award-winning cheese specialties, the Bildungszentrum educational center offering 230+ creative courses annually, the Panorama Café & Lounge for dining and events, and the Glasmalerei (glass painting workshop). Additional offerings include monastery tours with cheese tastings, overnight stays, and virtual 3D tours. The operations are interconnected, with cheese from the dairy featured in café offerings and tour experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Schlierbacher Bio-Käse: Organic cheese specialties produced by the monastery cheese dairy, which have won awards in recent years
• Panorama Café & Lounge
• Bildungszentrum Stift Schlierbach

Products and services

• Schlierbacher Bio-Käse (Organic Cheese) Organic cheese specialties (Bio-Käse) produced at the monastery's Bio-Käserei and sold to consumers via on-site retail, the Panorama Café, and regional wholesale channels.
• Panorama Café & Lounge Café and event venue serving breakfast, coffee, pastries, and cheese specialties to visitors and locals, also available as a venue for private events and gatherings.
• Bildungszentrum Stift Schlierbach Educational center offering roughly 230 creative and cultural courses annually (painting, textile arts, music, cooking, natural crafts) attended by around 1,800 adult learners and hobbyists.
• Glasmalerei Stift Schlierbach Stained glass and glass painting workshop producing everything from simple glazing to complete building glazing in various forms and sizes, including the on-site Margret-Bilger-Gallery.
• Stiftsführungen (Monastery Tours) Guided cultural tours of the monastery including the baroque church, Bernardisaal, historic library (12,000 books), cloister with the Schlierbacher Madonna, glass workshop, and a cheese tasting experience.
• Käse-Wein Degustation (Cheese-Wine Tasting) Standalone tasting experience pairing nine Schlierbacher organic cheese specialties with Austrian wines or traditional Most, hosted by a wine sommelier and cheese master, priced at €33.20 per person.
• Kloster auf Zeit (Monastery Stay) Guesthouse program allowing visitors to stay at the monastery, participate in communal prayer and meals, and receive spiritual accompaniment (available for men; women on individual arrangement).

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple awards received for organic cheese specialties

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Gruppentouristik.comminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial partner on group tourism platform, presenting the 'TOP GRUPPENZIEL 2026' (Top Group Destination 2026) designation for Schlierbach monastery tours and experiences.
• Busreisen.comminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial bus travel partner for promoting monastery visits and cultural tourism experiences to their customer base.
• Stift KremsmünstercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint 'Kremstaler Stift's Roas' day trip program combining visits to both monasteries. Includes shared itineraries for group tours covering historical sites, observatories, wine cellers, and cheese tastings.
• Schulverein Stiftsgymnasium SchlierbachminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational foundation established September 2020 to operate the monastery grammar school, which was founded by Abt Alois Wiesinger in 1925.
• Stift Rein (Steiermark)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMother daughter relationship - first three monks came from Stift Rein on May 9, 1620 to re-establish monastic life at Schlierbach after 64 years of interruption.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Berglandmilch: Largest Austrian dairy cooperative, encompassing brands like Schärdinger and Tirol Milch. Represents the dominant scale competitor in the Austrian dairy market against which Schlierbach's specialty cheese must differentiate.
• SalzburgMilch: Major Austrian regional dairy with full product portfolio including specialty and organic lines. Comparable as a regional dairy incumbent competing for the same Austrian retail and foodservice shelf space.
• Nöm (Niederösterreichische Molkerei): Austrian dairy processor producing branded dairy products, including organic and specialty ranges. Comparable as a nationally distributed dairy player with overlapping specialty and organic segments.

Direct peers

• Abbaye de Belloc: French Benedictine monastery producing traditional Ossau-Iraty cheese. Comparable as a monastic dairy producing premium, heritage-positioned cheese under a religious brand.
• Weihenstephan Abbey: Oldest brewery in the world, operated by a Bavarian Benedictine monastery. Comparable as a monastery-operated premium food brand combining heritage, on-site visitor retail, and wholesale distribution.
• Stift Kremsmünster: Austrian Benedictine monastery and direct strategic partner of Schlierbach via the joint Kremstaler Stift's Roas tour package. Operates similar heritage tourism, observatory visits, wine cellar tours, and cultural programming.
• Kloster Andechs (Andechs Monastery): Famous Bavarian Benedictine monastery operating a brewery and cheese dairy with on-site retail, gastronomy, and heritage tourism. Highly comparable as a monastery-affiliated dairy with a premium brand and integrated visitor experience.
• Stift Klosterneuburg: Austrian Augustinian monastery producing wine and operating extensive cultural tourism, gastronomy, and event programming. Comparable as a monastery-operated premium food brand with visitor experience.
• Abbaye de Tamié: French Alps monastery renowned for its artisanal raw-milk cheese (Tomme de Tamié). Direct peer in the niche of monastery-affiliated specialty cheese production and on-site sales.

Emerging players

• Alpenhain: Specialty Bavarian dairy producer focused on premium organic and traditional cheese products. Comparable as a regional Alpine specialty cheese brand with similar emphasis on artisanal and organic positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=nBekKQpnIls
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/k%C3%A4serei-stift-schlierbach-gmbh-&-co-kg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Käserei Stift Schlierbach GmbH & Co KG