St Peter's Abbey, Salzburg

St Peter's Abbey (German: Stift Sankt Peter), or St Peter's Archabbey (German: Erzabtei Sankt Peter, Latin: Archiabbatia sancti Petri Salisburgensis), is a Benedictine monastery and former cathedral in the Austrian city of Salzburg. It is considered one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking area, and in fact the oldest with a continuous history since its foundation in 696.

St Peter's Abbey was founded in 696 by Saint Rupert at the site of a Late Antique church stemming from the first Christianization in the area in the days of Severinus of Noricum. Likewise the establishment of the monastery was meant to forward the missionary work in the Eastern Alps. Until 987, the office of the abbot was joined to that of the Archbishop of Salzburg: the two were always held together by one man.

In the Middle Ages, St Peter's was known for its exceptional writing school. In 1074, Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg sent several monks to the newly established filial monastery of Admont in the March of Styria. In the 15th century, the abbey adopted the Melk Reforms. In 1623, Archbishop Paris Graf von Lodron founded the Benedictine University of Salzburg, which until its dissolution in 1810 was closely connected to the abbey.

From 1641, the abbey was a member of the Salzburg Congregation, merged in 1930 into the present Austrian Congregation (of which it is the principal house) of the Benedictine Confederation.

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