Stiftskirche St. Peter

The Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter is the oldest existing monastery in the German speaking area and is regarded as the cradle of the city and region of Salzburg, especially since the first abbots were also the bishops of the archdiocese. Founded by St. Rupert towards the end of the 7th century, this order became an extremely important church and cultural institution.

Continuing economic growth (mainly from salt mining) as well as the increase in land ownership (extending as far as Carinthia and Lower Austria) meant that besides their extensive social commitment in the sphere of caring for the sick and poor the monks were able to dedicate themselves intensively to art: book painting, music and theatre practice (especially from the time of the founding of the Benedictine University in 1622) were considerably furthered here. The abbey was built between 1125 and 1147 and is the only high Romanesque basilica remaining in Salzburg. In the 17th century it was given a Baroque character by the building of the choir house, the dome and chapel buildings, and the present-day interior design largely dates back to the 18th century. Every year since 1927 Mozart’s Mass in C minor has been performed here during the festival summer.