The Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter is located in the historic centre of Salzburg, at the foot of the Mönchsberg mountain. It was founded in 690 by one of the city's first bishops, Rupert, who later became the patron saint of Salzburg. Until 1110, the abbey was the seat of the archbishops. This monastery is still active today, but some parts of the monastery complex are open for tourist visits, including the main church of St Peter.
St Peter's Abbey is a complex of buildings from the 17th to 18th centuries with three courtyards and the main monastery church of St Peter. It was built as early as 1143, but was extensively remodelled at the same time as the main monastery buildings were erected. The cathedral is now in the Baroque style, especially the two graceful domes that crown the cathedral and its tall bell tower.
Inside, St Peter's Church is decorated with magnificent mouldings and unusual shell ornaments. It is quite a spacious church, as there are 17 altars inside, including the main altar, which were worked on by the Krems master Martin Johann Schmidt, who created 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, the relics of the patron saint of Salzburg, St Rupert, as well as of St Vitalius, were solemnly reburied in 1444. Also buried inside St Peter's Cathedral are Mozart's sister Maria Anna and the composer Joseph Haydn's brother Johann Michael.
St Peter's Abbey adjoins Mount Mönchsberg, whose steep wall still contains ancient catacombs where early Christians lived more than a thousand years ago. There is also a tiny ancient cemetery, which is the oldest in Salzburg. Here you can find unusual ancient tombstones and monuments dating back to 1288 and 1300.
