Stift St Peter, Salzburg, Austria

Stift St Peter, Salzburg
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stift_St_Peter_Salzburg_Kreuzgang_02.jpg
Author: Matthias Kabel


Stift St Peter, also known as St Peter's Archabbey, is a Benedictine abbey in Salzburg, Austria. Considered one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking world, Stift St Peter was established by Saint Rupert, the founder of Salzburg, in 696. Until 987, the bishop is also the abbot of the monastery.

During the Middle Ages, Stift St Peter was a famous writing school. The University of Salzburg was founded by Archbishop Paris Graf von Lodron, who is associated to St. Peter's Abbey. The university was dissolved in 1819, but a new educational institution, Kolleg. St. Benedikt, was established in 1926 by Abbot Petrus Klotz. This led to the eventual establishment of the present University of Salzburg.

Entrance to the abbey at Stift St Peter, Salzburg
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stift_St_Peter_Salzburg_Eingang_Kirche.jpg
Author: Matthias Kabel


Library of Stift St Peter, Salzburg
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stift_St_Peter_Salzburg_Zellenbibliothek_01.jpg
Author: Matthias Kabel


St Peter's Abbey was promoted to the rank of archabbey in 1927. When the Nazis took over Salzburg, the monks were expelled, but somehow, the monastery was not dissolved.

The present abbey church building, built in the Romanesque style, dates back to 1147. The interior had undergone repeated remodelling, and the present Rococo style dates to between 1760 and 1782, during the leadership of Abbot Beda Seeauer. Next to the abbey is the St Peter's Cemetery or Petersfriedhof.

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