Stift St. Peter - St. Peter’s Abbey

The neighbourhood around the Benedictine St. Peter’s Abbey is the oldest quarter of Salzburg. The main entrance of the abbey faces the southern side-entrance to the Franziskanerkirche.

The church of St. Peter’s Abbey is high-Romanesque, but was decorated with Baroque elements in the early 17th century under Abbot Beda Seeauer. It is one of the many buildings in Salzburg that contains elements from Romanesque to Rococo Style.

The first church on this site was probably built shortly after the death of St. Rupert, but only the ground floor of the Western tower remains from this building. After the fire of 1127, the current basilica was built under Abbot Balderich around 1130.

Charming mix of styles in St. Peter

The main nave of the church contains the Rupert Altar with the so-called “Felsengrab” (“rock tomb”) which was the original tomb of St. Rupert. Some bones of the saint are kept in a shrine in the altar of the middle nave, but most of Rupert’s relics are kept in a shrine under the main altar of the cathedral.

In the right nave of the church you find a second tomb of a saint, St. Vitalis, in the red marble of Adnet. The main altar is of marble, too, and decorated with a painting by Martin Johann Schmidt.

The stucco decorations were made by Benedikt Zöpf, the Rococo grid from 1768 by Philip Hinterseer and the frescos and several paintings by Franz Xaver König. In the surrounding chapels you see a number of modern frescos by Anton Faistauer.

Links

Click here to find St. Peter's Abbey on our Salzburg Map

http://www.stift-stpeter.at/
Official website of St. Peter - opens in new window

http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.s/s109436.htm
General info on St. Peter in German - opens in new window

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