Saint Peter’s Abbey, Salzburg

Saint Peter's Abbey, Salzburg tickets: which one to buy

Saint Peter's Abbey stands at the foot of the Monchsberg cliff in the old town of Salzburg, Austria, a short walk from the cathedral and the Festival Halls, and entry to the abbey church and the cemetery is free. The catacombs cut into the rock above the cemetery are ticketed, cheaply, and they are the most unusual part of the visit. The abbey is one of the oldest continuously active monasteries in the German-speaking world.

Walking tours of Salzburg, including Mozart and Sound of Music tours, pass through the cemetery, which is said to have inspired a scene in the film. The abbey's restaurant, the Stiftskeller Saint Peter, claims to be the oldest restaurant in Europe and hosts a Mozart dinner concert in the evenings. The abbey is a working Benedictine community, and visiting pauses during services. The cemetery is a quiet, atmospheric place to walk. Tickets for the catacombs are sold at a small booth at the foot of the stairs in the cemetery.

Visiting Saint Peter's Abbey, Salzburg: what to see

The abbey was founded around 696 by Saint Rupert, the missionary bishop who founded Salzburg, and it has been inhabited by monks without interruption ever since. The abbey church was built in the Romanesque style in the twelfth century and remodelled inside in the eighteenth century in a rich rococo style, with white and green stucco, gilded altars, paintings and a ceiling decorated with frescoes. The church holds the tomb of Saint Rupert and memorials to Michael Haydn, the composer and brother of Joseph Haydn, and to Mozart's sister Nannerl, who is buried in the cemetery. The Petersfriedhof cemetery, one of the oldest in Austria, has wrought-iron grave markers and arcades with family crypts.

Above the cemetery, the catacombs, early Christian chapels and hermit cells carved into the cliff, are reached by steep stairs and offer views over the cemetery and the old town. The Gertrude Chapel and the Maximus Chapel in the catacombs hold simple altars and fragments of frescoes. The cemetery's arcades contain the family tombs of Salzburg's merchants and nobles. The abbey's library and archives hold medieval manuscripts, though they are not open to the public. The church's high altar painting is by Martin Johann Schmidt, known as Kremser Schmidt. The abbey's courtyard includes a fountain and the entrance to the famous restaurant. Mozart's music is still performed at concerts in the church.

Saint Peter's Abbey, Salzburg opening hours and the best time to go

The church and cemetery are open daily, and the catacombs keep shorter hours, especially in winter. Salzburg is busiest in summer, particularly during the Salzburg Festival in July and August, and during the Christmas markets in December. Mornings are the quietest time in the cemetery. The abbey's church hosts concerts, and Mozart's Great Mass in C minor was first performed here in 1783.

Spring and autumn are pleasant for walking in the old town. Allow about forty-five minutes for the church, cemetery and catacombs, and take the funicular up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which starts nearby. The Hohensalzburg Fortress funicular starts a few steps from the cemetery gate and runs every ten minutes.