St. Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

St Peter’s Abbey was founded in 696 by Saint Rupert at the site of a Late Antique church stemming from the first Christianization in the area in the days of Severinus of Noricum. Likewise the establishment of the monastery was meant to advance missionary efforts in the Eastern Alps. Until 987, the office of the abbot was joined to that of the Archbishop of Salzburg: one man fulfilled both duties.

In the Middle Ages, St Peter’s was known for its exceptional school. In 1074, Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg sent several monks to found Admont Abbey in the March of Styria. In the 15th century, the abbey adopted the Melk Reforms. A pipe organ was built at the abbey by Daniel Hayl the younger in the years 1618 through 1620. In 1623, Archbishop Paris Lodron founded the Benedictine University of Salzburg, which until its dissolution in 1810 was closely connected to the abbey.

Since 1641, the abbey has been a member of the Salzburg Congregation, merged in 1930 into the present Austrian Congregation (of which it is the principal house) of the Benedictine Confederation.

In 1926, endeavours for re-establishing the Salzburg university led to the foundation of the Benedictine college (Kolleg St. Benedikt); the initiative helped bring the modern University of Salzburg back into being. In 1927, St Peter’s was raised to the status of an archabbey. Following the Austrian Anschluss to Nazi Germany in 1938, the premises were seized and most of the monks expelled. Nevertheless, the monastery was not dissolved and the monks returned after the war.

The present-day Romanesque abbey church at the northern foot of the Mönchsberg was erected from about 1130 onwards at the site of a previous Carolingian church building, it was dedicated to Saint Peter in 1147. One of the organs was located atop the rood screen in 1444, a work by Heinrich Traxdorf of Mainz. While the steeple received its onion dome in 1756, the interior was often re-modelled before attaining its currently visible Rococo style between 1760 and 1782 under Abbot Beda Seeauer’s direction. The high altar is a work by Martin Johann Schmidt. The St. Mary’s Chapel contains the grave of Abbot Johann von Staupitz (d. 1524), who was Martin Luther’s superior; they were both Augustinian monks in Germany at the time.

Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor was scheduled to premiere in the church, probably on 26 October 1783, with his wife Constanze singing first soprano. However, the work remained incomplete. Next to the altar where St. Rupert was originally entombed lie the tombs of Mozart’s sister Maria Anna Mozart (Nannerl) and Johann Michael Haydn. Also entombed at St. Peter’s Abbey is St. Vitalis.

Archabbey St. Peter is the oldest monastery in the German-speaking area. It was founded in 696 by Bishop Rupert of Worms as a monastery with the purpose of proselytizing the area. St. Peter’s abbey church (colloquially known as “Peter’s church”) is the oldest bishopric church of the Salzburg archdiocese. Archeological finds beneath the altar of the church indicate that even earlier, a church must have existed in the same spot. Until 1110, St. Peter’s Abbey was the residence of Salzburg’s archbishop.

During the Middle Ages, St. Peter’s Abbey was known for its outstanding scriptorium and writing school. Additionally, it is the mother monastery of the Benedictine Abbey Admont in Styria.

In 1622, Archbishop Paris von Lodron ordered the construction of the Benedictine University of Salzburg, which was strongly connected to the abbey until its dissolution in 1810. Abbot Petrus Klotz’s strong calls for a catholic university lead to the foundation of the St. Benedict’s College in 1926, which was the groundwork for the later University of Salzburg. This successful endeavor was honored by promoting the abbey to an archabbey.

During National Socialism, the monks were driven away but the monastery was not disbanded. Thus, the monks returned to the abbey after the war.

The abbey’s buildings suffered from multiple fires throughout its history and was repaired and reconstructed several times during different eras. Today, the complex features elements of the Romanesque and Gothic period, the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo!