The ''Peterskirche'' () is a Baroque

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish church in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It was transferred in 1970 by the

Archbishop of Vienna The Archbishop of Vienna is the prelate of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna who is concurrently the metropolitan bishop of its ecclesiastical province which includes the dioceses of Eisenstadt, Linz and St. Pölten. From 1469 to 1513, ...

Franz Cardinal König Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

to the priests of the

Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially r ...

The first church

The oldest church building (of which nothing remains today) dates back to the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

, and there is speculation that it could be the oldest church in

(see Ruprechtskirche). That Roman church was built on the site of a Roman encampment. This church was replaced with a Romanesque church with a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and two

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s. It is believed to have been established by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

around 800, although there is no evidence supporting this view. At the outside of the church, there is a relief

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

by R. Weyr

consecrate Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

d to the founding of the church by Charlemagne. In any case, a church of

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

in Vienna is first mentioned in 1137. Around the end of the 12th century, the church became part of the

Schottenstift The (), formally called (), is a Catholic monastery founded in Vienna in 1155 when Henry II of Austria brought Irish monks to Vienna. The monks did not come directly from Ireland, but came instead from Scots Monastery in Regensburg, Germany ...

. The mediaeval church had three

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

s, with an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

in the south instead of the normal eastern orientation. This unusual feature has triggered many discussions among experts, and it is suspected that the church was adapted from a previously secular building. The church was surrounded by shops, and a nearby building housed the ''Stadtguardia'', a forerunner of the modern police. The old church burned down in 1661 and was given only makeshift repairs. The decision to build a new church was taken up with the arrival of the Fraternity of the Holy Trinity of which the emperor Leopold I was a member. He had taken a vow to rebuild this church when Vienna was ravaged by the plague in 1679–1680.

The new building

The construction of the new

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church was begun around 1701 under

Gabriele Montani Gabriele is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Surname * Al Gabriele, American comic book artist * Angel Gabriele (1956–2016), American comic book artist * Corrado Gabriele (born 1966), Italian pol ...

, who was replaced by

Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (14 November 1668 – 16 November 1745) was an Austrian baroque architect and military engineer who designed stately buildings and churches and whose work had a profound influence on the architecture of the Habsburg ...

in 1703. The design was inspired by the

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Francesco Martinelli Franz Martinelli (or Italian: Francesco Martinelli; 1651 – 28 October 1708) was an Austrian architect. In 1684 he was in charge of the restoration work of the Servitenkirche in Vienna. In 1687 he also participated in the construction of the H ...

was the main architect. By 1722, most of the building was finished, and in 1733 the ''Peterskirche'' was finally consecrated to the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

. The new church was the first domed structure in

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Vienna. Due to the confinement of available space, it was built in a compact form, with its oval interior housing an astonishing amount of space and rectangular attachments. The church's interior has a lot of gold

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

. The

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

ed dome was mainly designed by

Matthias Steinl Matthias Steinl (otherwise Steindel, Staindle, Steindl or Stinle) (c. 1644–18 April 1727) was an Austrian painter, architect and designer, and one of the country's best known Baroque art, Baroque sculptors. Together with Johann Bernhard Fis ...

, who was also responsible for the interior decoration and the pews with

cherub A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...

ic heads. The

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es were originally painted by the Italian

Andrea Pozzo Andrea Pozzo (; Latinized version: ''Andreas Puteus''; 30 November 1642 – 31 August 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. Pozzo was best known for his grandiose fresc ...

, whose paintings were removed after his death. As a result, in 1713,

Johann Michael Rottmayr Johann Michael Rottmayr (11 December 1656 – 25 October 1730) was an Austrian painter. Biography Rottmayr was born in Laufen an der Salzach, Bavaria. Along with his Laufen-born contemporary, Hans Adam Weissenkircher, he received his educ ...

was able to start a completely new set. The fresco in the cupola represents the ''Coronation of Our Lady''. On the triumphal arch one can see the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of emperor Leopold I. In the

spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...

s around the dome are portrayals of the four Evangelists and four Fathers of the Church, painted by the Viennese artist J.G. Schmidt. The same artist also painted the altarpiece in the side chapel of St. Michael. The Baroque high altar was created by Antonio Galli Bibiena and his Bolognese workshop (construction) and

Martino Altomonte Martino Altomonte, born Johann Martin Hohenberg (8 May 1657, Naples – 14 September 1745, Vienna) was an Italian Baroque painter of Austrian descent who mainly worked in Poland and Austria. Life and work Martino Altomonte (Johann Martin Hohenb ...

(1657–1745) (

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

). The altarpiece portrays the ''Healing of the Lame by St. Peter and St. John in Jerusalem''. The same artist also painted the altarpiece in the side chapel of the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

. The small painting of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

above the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

is by the 19th century artist Kupelwieser. The

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

s in the side chapels of the Holy Family and St. Michael contain

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s from Roman

catacomb Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

s, donated by Cardinal Kollonitz in 1733. They were clothed in this period and placed in the glass coffins. The gilded pulpit is a work by

(1726) having, on top of the canopy, a representation of the Holy Trinity. Opposite the pulpit there is a gold-and-silver representation of the ''Martyrdom of St.

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) (; ; ) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was a saint of Bohemia (a western part of what is now the Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later accounts st ...

'', sculpted by

Lorenzo Mattielli Lorenzo Mattielli (1678/1688 ? – 27 or 28 April 1748) was an Italian sculptor from the Late Baroque period. His name has also variously been written as ''Matielli'', ''Mattiely'', ''Matthielli'', and ''Mathielli''. He supplied statuary for pala ...

. On top of it is a statue of ''The Mother of God''. Over the years, the paintings had become darker, and the interior began to take on a grey appearance. From 1998 to 2004, the church underwent a renovation, which returned the paintings to their original colouring and brightness.

Access

The Peterskirche is located on Petersplatz, right next to

Graben In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...

and just west of the Pestsäule. The street ''Jungferngasse'' cuts through the

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

and leads directly to the church. The Peterskirche is largely obscured by the surrounding buildings, and can only be seen clearly from directly in front.

Gallery

Wien - Peterskirche, Innenansicht.JPG, Interior view from the gallery Iglesia de San Pedro, Viena, Austria, 2020-01-31, DD 92.jpg, Interior of Peterskirche Iglesia de San Pedro, Viena, Austria, 2020-01-31, DD 89-91 HDR.jpg, Detail of the dome's frescoes St. Peters Church (Peterskirche) (7815694026).jpg, ''Coronation of Our Lady'' fresco Interior_of_St._Peter's_Church,_Vienna.jpg, ''The Heart of Mary'' in the side chapel of St. Antony Peterskirche Kanzel 2, Vienna.jpg, Baroque pulpit Organ of St. Peter's Church (2).jpg, Organ Peterskirche Vienna plan.svg, Groundplan

References

*The information in this article is partly based on a translation of its German counterpart :de:Peterskirche (Wien). *St. Peter's Church, a small English guide - available in the church. *Eyewitness Travel Guides - Vienna (in Dutch translation : Capitool reisgidsen: Wenen); Dorling Kindersley Ltd. Londen, 1994

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peters Church, Vienna Churches completed in 1733

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Opus Dei Baroque architecture in Vienna Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt Church buildings with domes