Stiftskirche St. Peter, Salzburg

With the sun finally shining we headed out to see some more sights before our afternoon tour to Hallstatt. First up was a visit to Stiftskirche St. Peter,
Saint Peter’s Church. The Church and Abbey of St. Peter’s were founded by the Frankish missionary Rupert in the 7th century. The monastic brotherhood of that time still exists, making it the oldest monastic order in Germany-speaking world today. After several fires, the church and abbey were restored in a number of different eras, with a long gallery added in the 17th century to house a painting collection.

Mozart and Haydn both have close ties to the church. In 1769, Mozart, at 13 years of age, composed his “Dominick’s Mass” for the abbot, while a few years later Michael Haydn was commissioned by the abbey to write his “Rupert Mass”.Read more