Collegiate Church of St. Peter (Salzburg)
The collegiate church of St. Peter is the abbey church of the Benedictine Archabbey of St. Peter in the middle of the St. Peter district directly at the foot of the Mönchsberg in the city of Salzburg . The church was consecrated to the Holy Apostle Peter . The entire complex of the St. Peter monastery is under monument protection ( list entry ). After one year of extensive renovation work, the collegiate church was reopened on September 22nd, 2019 with the consecration of a new altar by the Archbishop of Salzburg and the Archabbot of St. Peter.
history
The collegiate church was built by Abbot Balderich between 1130 and 1143 on the site of a destroyed first monastery church from around 1000 or even older predecessor structures, presumably using a Carolingian church tower substructure from the 9th century. The church is essentially a Romanesque basilica, which received a transept, a choir and a dome in the course of baroque redesigns.
Exterior construction
In the north and south walls there were originally open arcades from probably the late Roman period.
The core of the tower, presumably from the 9th century, was raised under Abbot Otto II. On the west side of the tower are the marble coats of arms of the St. Peter monastery and the abbot Beda Seeauer with the year 1756.
Above the vestibule sits enthroned on an attic wall with a round arch as the victor over all evil, Christ (depicted as a boy) between Saints Peter and Paul, designed by Franz Hitzl 1781–1783. In a wall niche above the entrance is the statue of St. Rupert , which was probably designed by Josef Anton Pfaffinger.
The vestibule west of the tower with the chapel on the south side of the tower was built in the second quarter of the 13th century. The chapel on the north side of the tower dates from 1424. From 1431 to around 1750, the chapels in the south of the nave were gradually built.
In 1605 and 1606, on behalf of Abbot Martin Hattinger, the three apses in the east of the church were demolished and the interior redesigned. Under Abbot Joachim Buchauer, the church was vaulted from 1619 to 1620 and the early Baroque crossing dome was built in 1622. Abbot Beda Seeauer had this high octagonal drum dome divided by corner pilasters in 1757 and provided with drum windows and a tower hood.
lobby
The Romanesque vestibule has a ribbed vault. The main portal to the tower ground floor dates from around 1250 and bears strong resemblance to the portal of the Church of St. Zeno in Bad Reichenhall, a few kilometers away, which was built around a hundred years earlier . It is structured in stages with three circumferential columns with concave fillets in between and adorned with bulbous and acanthus capitals. The tympanum above the gate dates from around 1160 and shows a relief above a vine frieze with Christ enthroned on a rainbow as savior and judge of the world between Saints Peter and Paul. The two trees with the doves sitting on them are symbols of peace. The Latin text above the tympanum translates as: “I am the gate of life. Come, you in need of salvation, and pass through me. No other way leads to life. ”The door itself has carved baroque wooden panels that Lorenz Härmbler created. The skylight grille was made in 1765–1766 by the well-known Salzburg blacksmith Philipp Hinterseer . The two ash troughs date from Roman times.
The inner nave
The nave is finished with an ornate Rococo grille, forged in 1768 by Philipp Hinterseer. With its leaves, flowers and border ornaments, it represents the high point of the artist's rich work.
Behind the delicate rococo stucco of the nave, which Benedikt Zöpf designed in green on white between 1760 and 1766, the original Romanesque structure of the church remains clearly visible. The base parts of columns and pillars even show the Romanesque shape. Several steps lead to the raised aisles.
The organ case was redesigned by Lorenz Härmbler in 1772–63. The top figures of Saint Peter (originally God the Father) and Saints Rupert and Vitalis come from Hans Waldburger's former high altar .
The remains of Romanesque wall paintings
In 1885 remains of Romanesque and Gothic wall paintings were discovered and uncovered in the church.
The easternmost yoke of the south wall (central nave) shows fragments of the Liturgy of the Hours (tertia hora) from the middle of the 12th century. The south aisle in the east shows Maria Magdalena with Archbishop Eberhard II von Regensberg (?) As the donor of the work. There are also depictions of a tree and an ornamentally painted arched frieze from the 2nd half of the 13th century.
In the north aisle there are arcade niches with ornamental painting in the east. The fifth pillar on the north side shows a marbling of the column shaft from around 1400, the fifth pillar on the south side shows two mythical creatures clutching each other.
The baroque wall and ceiling paintings
The vaulted ceiling of the nave and the chancel is painted in the middle in four fields with frescoes. They were created by Johann Weiß in 1764 and depict the following scenes: The calling of Peter, Jesus walks on the Sea of Galilee, the handing over of the keys to Saint Peter and the liberation of Peter from prison. Weiss painted angels and putti making music in the vault of the dome.
The side walls of the nave show large rectangular canvas pictures: painted in the north by Ignazio Solari in 1632, the erection of the cross, in the south by Kaspar Memberger (1591) Christ carrying the cross. In addition to these pictures by Thiemo Sing , the blessing of King Totila by Saint Benedict was shown in the north around 1660 and a picture of the Bavarian Duke Theodo , to whom Saint Rupert shows the monastery of St. Peter, in the south .
Above that, ten pictures each in the north of the central nave depict the life of St. Benedict, in the south of the same the life of St. Rupert and the history of St. Peter's Abbey, which Franz Xaver König painted around 1760.
In the drum of the dome, Franz Xaver König depicted the eight Beatitudes in scenes from the Old Testament, and the four early church fathers in the dome pendants.
In the north cross-arm vault, Franz Xaver König depicts the finding of the grave of St. Amands , in the south cross-arm vault the sermon of St. Vitalis. The front walls also show the birth of Christ by Franz Xaver König in the north and the adoration of the baby Jesus by the three wise men in the south.
The pictures on the first floor of the tower depict the death of Saint Benedict in the north and the baptism of the Bavarian Duke Theodo in the north, painted by Thiemo Sing.
Main altar
The altar was designed by Lorenz Härmbler . The stone carvings for the high altar , which was erected from 1777 to 1780, were made by Johann Nepomuk Högerl , the sculptural work largely by Lorenz Härmbler, the corresponding versions by Franz Xaver König. The altar has side high marble columns and superstructures with curved entablature pieces. The altarpiece by Martin Johann Schmidt shows the Saints Peter, Paul and Benedict together with the surrounding angels, who venerate Saint Mary with the child. The top of the altar depicts God the Father with the dove of the Holy Spirit. The tabernacle from 1625 has been revised and preserved as a remnant of an earlier high altar by Hans Waldburger. The side statues by Franz Hitzl show the well-known Salzburg saints Rupert, Vitalis, Virgil and Saint Amandus of Worms and Amand of Maastricht .
The six central nave altars
Three altars on the right and three on the left side of the central nave were all erected in the years 1774–1776, the middle of the altars being larger than the outer ones.
The altars in the north show the glorification of the name of God by Karl von Reselfeld in the east altarpiece, painted in 1704 and provided with the upper image of Saint Virgil by Martin Johann Schmidt , the side figures represent Saints Thekla and Rosalia .
The middle altar panel shows the death of St. Benedict and St. Rochus in the upper picture. The pictures were painted by Martin Johann Schmidt. The side sculptures of saints show Scholastika and Erentrudis .
The western altar shows the altar sheet "Jesus teaches the apostles" and in the upper picture the holy King Heinrich .
In the south there are again three altars lined up: the eastern one also shows the Holy Family by Martin Johann Schmidt in the altar sheet and Saint Boniface in the upper picture . The saints on the side are Theresia von Avila and Gertrud von Nivelles .
The middle altar panel shows the death of St. Rupert painted by Sylvester Bauer (1662), the figures on the side depict St. Placidus and Maurus.
The western altar panel shows the awarding of the scapular to Saint Simon Stock and was in turn painted by Martin Johann Schmidt, the upper picture, created by Franz Xaver König, the Saint Kunigunde .
The two altars in the transept
The altar in the north transept depicts the beheading of John the Baptist in the altar sheet, which was painted by Martin Johann Schmidt. The side figures of Saints George and Martin and the figures in the upper excerpt of Saints Magdalena and Margaretha were carved by Franz Hitzl.
In the south transept, the altarpiece by Martin Johann Schmidt shows Saint Vitalis as the helper of the sick and in the upper image of Saint Andrew . The statues on the side depict Saint Wolfgang and Saint Ulrich , the figures in the excerpt show Saints Elisabeth and Barbara.
Pulpit and oratorio bay
In this church, the pulpit and bay window in the nave are arranged symmetrically in the Baroque style, only the bay window in the north is not open, but has glass panes. The pulpit is crowned by Saint Paul and the bay window opposite is crowned by Saint Peter. The basket and the sound cover of the pulpit and the bay window were decorated with stucco by Benedikt Zöpf.
Chapels in the south of the nave
These chapels are all designed with altars by Martin Johann Schmidt. The easternmost chapel with the Adoration of the Lamb by the Holy Virgin was consecrated in 1431. The upper picture shows Maria Magdalena here. The chapel was provided with baroque vaulting in 1724 by Josef Schmidt.
The second chapel with the altarpiece, the Pieta with Magdalena and John, shows stucco reliefs by Arma Christi in the arched reveal. In the vault of the chapel there is a pelican with a boy.
The third chapel has an altarpiece of Maria Immaculata, the fourth one with the rapture of St. Theresa, and the fifth chapel one with the fourteen helpers in need. These chapels were all baroque between 1710 and 1720. The ceiling painting of the third, fourth and fifth chapels is characterized by symbols.
To the side of the tower in the north is the Wolfgang chapel with the altarpiece of St. Benedict and in the south the Holy Spirit chapel with a picture depicting Pentecost. Both altarpieces were designed by Franz Xaver König.
Catherine Chapel
The Romanesque St. Catherine's Chapel dates back to 1215 and was donated by the Babenberg Duke Leopold the Glorious . It presents itself as a simple long house with arched windows. The groin vault rests on simple wall pillars. The altar from 1733 was designed according to the model of the Mariazeller altar and has a copy of the Mariazeller miraculous image. The side figures of Saints Catherine and Barbara were designed by Johann Georg Hitzl .
Marienkapelle in the monastery wing (formerly St Vitus Chapel)
The Marienkapelle was consecrated in 1130 and redesigned in 1319 as a Gothic building on the preserved Romanesque base. It is one of the oldest Gothic buildings in Salzburg. In it is the so-called "Maria-Säul-Altar", named after a Gothic statue of a " Beautiful Madonna ", as well as the tombstones of several abbots of the monastery. Johann Staupitz's tombstone is in the center .
organ
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Salzburg_Stiftskirche_St._Peter_Orgel_01.jpg/220px-Salzburg_Stiftskirche_St._Peter_Orgel_01.jpg)
The organ was built in 1918 by the Salzburg organ builders Hans Mertel and Max Dreher and has 39 registers on two manuals and a pedal . The playing and stop action are purely pneumatic , the instrument has a cone chests . The colludation of the instrument took place on November 4th and 5th, 1918. a. the Salzburg cathedral organist Franz Sauer . In the course of a church renovation, Mathis Orgelbau relocated the organ to the southern oratory of the collegiate church in 2019 , while the baroque case will receive a stylistically matching new instrument.
In addition, an Italian- style choir organ by Orgelbau Franz Zanin from Camino al Tagliamento has been installed in a side oratorio since 1996 .
Disposition of the Mertel-Dreher organ
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Disposition of the Venetian organ
- B = bass / S = soprano
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- Pairing : IP, II-P, I-II
- Ripieno
Bells
The collegiate church has a complete bell from the interwar period , which is very unusual because of the almost complete destruction of newer bells as part of the bell delivery of the Second World War . It is considered to be the largest and most important casting of the interwar period in Austria . It was created in 1927 by Josef Pfundner senior. For the first time in Austria, modern bell decorations were used, designed by the well-known artist Jakob Adlhart .
No. | Surname | Nominal |
Weight (kg) |
Diameter (cm) |
Casting year | Caster |
1 | Great St. Peter's Bell | as 0 +0 | 5,698 | 204 | 1927 | Josef Pfundner Sr. |
2 | of 1 -2 | 2,946 | 160 | 1927 | Josef Pfundner Sr. | |
3 | it 1 +0 | 1,678 | 134 | 1927 | Josef Pfundner Sr. | |
4th | f 1 +0 | 1,197 | 120 | 1927 | Josef Pfundner Sr. | |
5 | as 1 -2 | 683 | 100 | 1927 | Josef Pfundner Sr. | |
6th | b 1 -2 | 491 | 90 | 1927 | Josef Pfundner Sr. | |
7th | Train bell | as 2 +4 | approx. 50 | 1950 | Bell foundry Oberascher |
literature
- Lieselotte v. Eltz-Hoffmann: The churches of Salzburg . Verlag Anton Pustet, Salzburg 1993, ISBN 3-7025-0308-0 .
- Bernd Euler, Ronald Gobiet, Horst Huber: Dehio Salzburg - City and Country . Verlag Anton Schroll & Co, Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-7031-0599-2 .
- St. Peter in Salzburg - The oldest monastery in the German-speaking area, 3rd state exhibition May 15 - October 26, 1982, Office of the Sbg. Provincial government, Salzburg, 1982.
Individual evidence
- ^ Johann Josef Mertel, organ builder (born May 14, 1873 in Marktschorgast , Upper Franconia; † December 14, 1937 in Gnigl , Salzburg).
- ↑ digitized version
- ↑ Information on the organ
- ^ Jörg Wernisch: Bell customer of Austria. Journal-Verlag, Lienz 2006.
Web links
- official homepage
- Bells (information and audio samples)
- Collegiate music
- Report on the excavated wall remains from the 5th century
Coordinates: 47 ° 47 ′ 49 ″ N , 13 ° 2 ′ 45 ″ E