Abbey of St. Peter (Stift Sankt Peter) description and photos - Austria: Salzburg (city) (Topic)

Abbey of St. Peter (Stift Sankt Peter) description and photos - Austria: Salzburg (city). Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. Title in English - Stift Sankt Peter.

Photo and description

The Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter is located in the historic center of Salzburg, at the very foot of the Monchsberg mountain. It was founded in 690 by one of the first city bishops - Rupert, who later became the patron saint of Salzburg. Until 1110, the abbey housed the residence of the archbishops. This monastery is still operating, but some parts of the monastery complex are open for tourist visits, including the main church of St. Peter.

The Abbey of St. Peter is a complex of buildings of the 17th-18th centuries with three courtyards and the main monastery church Saint Peter. It was built back in 1143, but was greatly rebuilt at the same time as the construction of the main monastery buildings. Now the cathedral is made in baroque style, especially worth noting are the two graceful domes crowning the cathedral itself and its high bell tower.

Inside, the Church of St. Peter is decorated with luxurious stucco molding and unusual ornaments in the form of shells. This is a rather spacious temple, as there are 17 altars inside it, including the main one, on which the master from Krems, Martin Johann Schmidt, worked in a mixed baroque and rococo style. In general, the interior of the church was completely finished at the end of the 18th century.

In the right nave of the cathedral in 1444, the relics of the patron saint of Salzburg, Saint Rupert, and also Saint Vitaly were solemnly reburied. Also buried inside St. Peter's Cathedral are Mozart's sister Maria Anna and the brother of the composer Joseph Haydn, Johann Michael.

St. Peter's Abbey is adjacent to Mount Monchsberg, in the sheer wall of which the ancient catacombs, where the early Christians lived more than a thousand years ago, are still preserved. There is also a tiny ancient cemetery, which is the oldest in all of Salzburg. Here you can find unusual old tombstones and monuments dating back to 1288 and 1300.

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Topic: Abbey of St. Peter (Stift Sankt Peter) description and photos - Austria: Salzburg (city).