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Origin and history

The St Peter's Church in Vienna, today the St Peter's Archaeological Museum, is an ancient abbey built at the end of the fifth century in a Gallo-Roman cemetery, on the ruins of a residential district. Originally dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul, it served as a funeral basilica sheltering the burials of the bishops of Vienna, including Mamert (died around 475), considered his probable founder. Its current plan, with a unique nave and a semicircular apse, dates back to this primitive period, incorporating ancient jobs and marble columns. The lower parts of the abside and the wall arches also date back to the fifth century, while the modifications of the upper parts (windows) took place in the Carolingian era.

In the Middle Ages, the abbey became the spiritual and political heart of Vienna. A monastic community settled there from the 6th century, directed according to tradition by the Léonian hermit. The abbey, enriched by the relics of many saints (including the Table of the Supper), dominates the city until the wars of Religion, which weaken its influence. The monks, who became canons, obtained in 1780 union with the abbey of Saint-Chef before its abolition in 1791. Transformed into a museum in 1809, the church underwent a major restoration in the 1860s, partially regaining its Romanesque appearance after the suppression of a neo-classical decoration added in 1780.

The architecture of Saint Peter reflects its many transformations. In the Romanesque period (XII century), the nave was divided into three vessels, a bell tower was added to the west, and the chapel Notre-Dame (in the Greek cross) was vaulted as a cradle. The southern gate, decorated with sculptures, and remains of 12th century murals (like a Saint John) testify to this period. The funeral chapel Our Lady, raised between the 12th and 15th centuries, and Saint George's Oratory (now separate church at the Revolution) complete the whole. Shortly after the 15th century, the abbey also retained fragments of Carolingian chancels (sixteenth century) re-used in the bell tower.

As a historic monument since 1862, Saint Peter houses an exceptional set of relics (26 Saints, including Mamert, Avit, or Adon) and the Tableau de la Cène, attracting pilgrims and historians. Its lapidary museum, established in 1872, presents archaeological collections that have remained almost unchanged since then. The building thus illustrates the cultural and architectural continuity of Vienna, from late antiquity to the nineteenth century, while symbolizing the religious and political changes of the region.

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