Before and after the music
The Old Town around St. Peter's
A short, sourced guide to St. Peter's Abbey and the Old Town setting around the Mozart dinner concert: the church, the cemetery and the hills.
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The dinner concert is held inside the precinct of St. Peter's Abbey, founded in 696, at the foot of the Mönchsberg in Salzburg's Old Town. Next to the restaurant are the abbey church, with a Rococo interior of 1760 to 1782, and the Petersfriedhof cemetery with its catacombs. The Old Town became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
An Old Town on a World Heritage list
The Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg was inscribed by UNESCO in 1996. It covers the old city on both banks of the Salzach and the hills that frame it. Salzburg was a city-state ruled by a prince-archbishop until the nineteenth century, and its wealth in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries produced the Baroque churches and palaces that define the skyline. Wikipedia's article on the historic centre gives the core zone as 236 hectares, with a larger buffer zone that protects it from development visible in long-distance views.
The abbey since 696
St. Peter's Abbey was founded in 696 and is described as one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking world. The abbey's own website says monks have lived and worked there since that year. The restaurant is part of the abbey precinct, which is why a dinner here begins with a walk past the church. Wikipedia's article on the abbey calls it a Benedictine monastery and a former cathedral at the northern foot of the Mönchsberg.
The Rococo church
The church has an old stone portal with banded arches and an interior that reached its present Rococo form between 1760 and 1782, under Abbot Beda Seeauer. Mozart's Great Mass in C minor was first performed here in October 1783. Opening arrangements for the church are set by the abbey, so check its website rather than relying on a printed guide.
The cemetery and the catacombs
The Petersfriedhof is probably as old as the abbey, laid out around the year 700. Its catacombs are cut into the rock of the hill behind it and probably date to late antiquity, when they may have served as an early Christian meeting place and hermitage. Like the church, the cemetery is a separate sight with its own arrangements.
The Mönchsberg behind the tower
The abbey church stands at the northern foot of the Mönchsberg, one of the hills that frame the Old Town. Wikipedia's article on the historic centre lists the Mönchsberg, the Festungsberg and the Kapuzinerberg as the hills within the World Heritage area, alongside the old city on both banks of the Salzach. Its article on Salzburg adds that the Mönchsberg and the Kapuzinerberg provide green space within the city.
Other things in the Old Town
Wikipedia's article on the historic centre names the cathedral, the Residenz, the Franciscan church and Nonnberg Abbey, founded around 712 or 715, among the key buildings of the Old Town, alongside St. Peter's Abbey. The cathedral is also in the Old Town, and its own opening arrangements and concerts are separate from the dinner concert. Plan one sight in daylight and leave the evening for the music.
Before or after the concert
Allow time to walk the precinct before you go up to the hall. The restaurant is to the right of the church, and the organiser recommends public transport so that you can stroll through the Old Town on the way. If you want to see inside the church, plan it for daylight and check the abbey's arrangements first.
Frequently asked questions
When was Salzburg's Old Town listed by UNESCO?
In 1996, as the Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg.
Is the abbey church open on the evening of the concert?
Opening arrangements are set by the abbey, so check its website before you go.
Sources