Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The St Peter's stone museum is housed in the former St Peter's Church in Vienna, a 5th century funeral building. This paleo-Christian basilica, one of the best preserved in France to the north of the Alps, retains its original structure: a carpented nave finished with a vaulted apse in cul-de-four, framed by ancient columns. Its historical importance is also due to its role as an uninterrupted place of worship since its foundation, with major transformations in the 11th century, such as the addition of a bell tower and arches slender in the nave.

Created between 1802 and 1807, the museum houses an exceptional lapidary ensemble, almost exclusively from ancient Vienna. The collection, made up since the end of the eighteenth century by excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries, brings together architectural elements, funeral steles, altars, sarcophagi, sculptures and mosaics. The museum, inspired by the cabinets of 19th century curiosities, favours an accumulation presentation, creating a romantic atmosphere rather than an individual presentation of the pieces.

The church of Saint Peter the Netherlands has undergone several phases of transformation. In the sixth century, a monastic community founded by St.Leonian, with the support of the Viennese Ansemond, renewed its decor. Just before the Revolution, a decor of stuccos was added, and then removed during the restorations of the 1860s, which aimed to restore the medieval aspect of the building. The Notre Dame chapel, built in the 11th century, and the ancient columns re-used in the abside testify to the superimposition of the epochs in this unique monument.

Ranked among the Museums of France and associated with the Church of Saint-Pierre-le-Bas as a Historic Monument, the site combines archaeological and architectural value. His interest lies as much in the ancient remains exposed as in the basilica itself, which illustrates the evolution of funeral and religious practices in Vienna, from antiquity to the Middle Ages. However, the accuracy of its location remains poor (note 5/10), according to available data.

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