St. Peter’s Abbey Church

St. Peter’s Abbey (German: Stift Sankt Peter), also known as St. Peter’s Archabbey (German: Erzabtei Stift Sankt Peter, Latin: Archiabbatia sancti Petri Salisburgensis), is a Benedictine monastery and ancient cathedral in Salzburg, Austria. It is regarded as one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking region, and in fact the oldest with a continuous existence dating back to 696.

The current Romanesque abbey church at the northern foot of the Mönchsberg was built around 1130 on the site of an earlier Carolingian church, and it was dedicated to Saint Peter in 1147. In 1444, one of the organs, a work by Heinrich Traxdorf of Mainz, was installed atop the rood screen. While the tower gained its onion dome in 1756, the interior was often remodeled until achieving its current Rococo design between 1760 and 1782 under the leadership of Abbot Beda Seeauer. Martin Johann Schmidt created the high altar. The St. Mary’s Chapel holds the burial of Martin Luther’s superior, Abbot Johann von Staupitz (d. 1524); they were both Augustinian monks in Germany at the time.

Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor was set for a church debut, most likely on October 26, 1783, with his wife Constanze singing first soprano. However, the job remained unfinished.

The tombs of Mozart’s sister Maria Anna Mozart (Nannerl) and Johann Michael Haydn are located next to the altar where St. Rupert was first entombed. St. Vitalis is also buried at St. Peter’s Abbey.

The oldest library in Austria is housed in St Peter’s. The most valuable of the 800 manuscripts is the Verbrüderungsbuch, which Bishop Virgil placed in 784. The library has expanded to 100,000 volumes via continuous purchase, with a concentration on Benedictine monasticism, medieval church history, art history, and objects connected to the local history of Salzburg, or Salisburgensia. Incunabula and early editions, visuals, notably Father Gregor Reitlechner’s devotional image collection, and maps are among the special collections.

Abbot Beda Seeauer had the medieval Zellenbibliothek restored to Rococo design in 1768. It was repaired in 1999. It can only be accessed with specific permission.