Stift Saint Peter, Salzburg

Stift Saint Peter, Salzburg

St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg is one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking area, tracing its foundation back to 696 AD by Saint Rupert.

St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg is one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking area, tracing its foundation back to 696 AD by Saint Rupert. The present day Benedictine monastery on the foothills of the Mönchsberg was built in the 12th century in Romanesque style, while Baroque onion dome was added in the 18th century. The grand Rococo interiors feature high marble pillars and ceiling frescoes. The Rupert Altar in the main nave has the Felsengrab which was the original tomb of Saint Rupert, though most of the saint's relics are now under the marble high altar which is adorned with a painting by Martin Johann Schmidt, while. The altar also has the tombs of Mozart's sister Maria Anna Mozart (Nannerl), and Johann Michael Haydn, while the St Mary's Chapel contains the grave of Abbot Johann von Staupitz, and the right nave has the red marble tomb of St. Vitalis.

The Abbey is also home to the oldest library in Austria, with more than 100,000 volumes and 800 manuscripts on Benedictines, medieval church history, art history, and the local history of Salzburg. Particularly important is the Verbrüderungsbuch which was the monastery register. It also has musical archives of works by Johann Ernst Eberlin, Anton Cajetan Adlgasser, Leopold and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Sigismund von Neukomm, Robert Führer, and Karl Santner. The collection is rounded off with paintings, church treasures, instruments, a coin cabinet and other curios.

The Petersfriedhof or abbey cemetery was laid out during the founding of the church, and has graves preserved from the 13th century. It has several chapels, as well as interesting wrought iron headstones and miniature gardens, all set aglow by the candles placed there in the evenings. The cemetery is one of the oldest in Europe.