St. Peter's Church is a beautiful Baroque Roman Catholic parish church in Vienna. Located on Petersplatz, right next to the Graben and just west of the Pestsäule, Peterskirche is one of Vienna's most impressive places of interest, due to its architectural and artistic qualities.
The oldest church building of which nothing remains today dates back to the Early Middle Ages, at a time when Vienna was still a Roman camp under the name of Vindobona. This church was later replaced by a Romanesque church with a nave and two aisles. It is believed to have been established by Charlemagne around 800, although there is no evidence supporting this view. At the outside of the church, there is a relief sculpture by R. Weyr consecrated to the founding of the church by Charlemagne. In any case, a church of Saint Peter is first mentioned in 1137. Around the end of the 12th century, the church became part of the Schottenstift.
The medieval 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 construction of the current oval shaped church began around 1701 under Gabriele Montani. After a change in plan the famous architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt continued the work in 1703. Von Hildebrandt has designed many stately buildings and churches, among them are the two Belvedere palaces which was a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. The design was inspired by the St. Peter's Basilica of the Vatican in Rome. By 1722, most of the building was finished, and in 1733, the Peterskirche was finally consecrated to the Holy Trinity. The new church was Vienna‘s first domed structure in baroque style.
Interior
The magnificently decorated interior makes an overwhelming impression on the visitor. An abundance of marble pilasters, gilded sculptures, intricate stucco and impressive frescoes turn the interior into a lavish work of art. This church is dedicated to the Most Blessed Trinity, so several representations and symbols of this central mystery of the Catholic faith can be discovered in the church.
The Baroque high altar was created by Santino Bussi after a design by Antonio Galli, a member of the Italian artist family Galli da Bibiena. He was also responsible for the trompe-l'oeil above the high altar. (Trompe l’oeil: A style of painting in which objects are seem to be three-dimensional). The altarpiece by Martino Altomonte portrays the Healing of the Lame man by St. Peter and St. John in Jerusalem. The same artist also painted the altarpiece in the side chapel of the Holy Family. Above the high altar there is a small painting of the Immaculate Conception by the 19th century artist Kupelwieser.
On the triumphal arch one can see the imperial coat of arms with the motto of Leopold I. On either side located the richly decorated oval windows, flanked by the carefully executed portraits of the four Evangelists and four Latin Fathers of the Church, which were painted by the Viennese artist J. G. Schmidt. The shrines in the side chapels of the Holy Family and St. Michael contain the bones of two martyrs, brought from the Roman catacombs in 1733 by Cardinal S. Kollonitz. They were put on clothes and placed in these reliquaries.
The pulpit's decoration is particularly excessive, with its numerous gilded sculptures created by Matthias Steindl in 1716. Opposite the pulpit is a dramatic sculpture group sculpted by an Italian artist Lorenzo Mattielli in 1729. The gold-and-silver sculptures depict martyr St. John of Nepomuk (1345 – 1393) being thrown off the Charles Bridge in Prague. He was drowned in the Vltava River by the orders of the king of Bohemia, since as the confessor of the queen, he refused to reveal her secrets. John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional. The five stars beneath his figure, symbolize the stars which are believed to have appeared on the night of his murder.
The fabulous fresco in the cupola represents the "Coronation of the Virgin Mary" and was painted in 1714 by a notable Austrian Baroque painter, Johann Michael Rottmayr.
Over the years, the paintings had become darker, and the interior began to take on a gray appearance. From 1998 to 2004, the church underwent a renovation, which returned the paintings to their original rich coloring and brightness.
Text Sources:
peterskirche.at
wikipedia.org
aviewoncities.com
