Petersplatz · Vienna
Under a frescoed dome a few steps from the Graben, a chamber ensemble plays Vivaldi, Haydn and Schubert.
Look up between movements. The gilded altar and painted dome reward every pause.
Is it worth an hour of your Vienna evening?
Worth the evening if you want an hour of live chamber music in a historic church in the middle of the city. The setting is the draw: a baroque interior begun around 1701, a fresco-painted dome and a gilded altar, a short walk from the Graben. It is not a full orchestra, not a long evening and not a church tour. For about one hour, a small ensemble plays well-known classical pieces.
A concert by Classic Ensemble Vienna inside St Peter's Church, on Petersplatz. The ticket page names Vivaldi, Schubert, Beethoven and Haydn, with Mozart and Bach in the longer description. The operator may change the programme, so nothing is guaranteed for your night.
It is not a concert hall. Seating is in church pews, shorts are not allowed and video recording is not allowed. Dinner, drinks and transport come separately. It is also different from a longer Musikverein evening, which is staged in a hall built for orchestras. The comparison guide puts the two next to each other.
Pick a day on the calendar and the start times and open seats for it appear. The booking lets you lock in a seat today and settle the bill afterwards, and a cancellation up to 24 hours ahead costs nothing on GetYourGuide. The programme can change, so read your confirmation once more before the day.
Four facts about the church and the hour
The composers on the music stands
A concert like this draws on the music of Vienna's own composers. Here is what each of them has to do with the city, from published sources, in the order a programme often runs.
The operator may change the programme. Nothing on this page guarantees any particular piece or composer on your night.
Wikipedia calls The Four Seasons his most famous work, one violin concerto for each season of the year. The set was printed in Amsterdam in 1725 inside Opus 8, a collection of twelve, and a sonnet is tied to each concerto and describes the scenes the music paints. Vivaldi himself moved to Vienna hoping for royal support, and Wikipedia says he died there in July 1741.
Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, is a serenade for strings. Wikipedia says Mozart completed it in Vienna on 10 August 1787, and that the German title means 'a little night music'. The score asks for five string players, a pair of violins, a viola, a cello and a double bass, so a small ensemble can play it without losing anything.
Haydn moved to Vienna in 1740 and sang as a chorister at St Stephen's Cathedral for nine years. Wikipedia credits him as pivotal in the evolution of the string quartet and says he is sometimes called its father. He died at home in Vienna in May 1809, aged 77, and taught the young Beethoven some counterpoint.
Beethoven moved to Vienna in November 1792, aged 21, and Wikipedia says the city became his base. There he studied composition with Haydn. He died in Vienna on 26 March 1827 after months of illness, aged 56. Haydn and Beethoven, teacher and student, are two of the names the concert's description lists.
Schubert was born in Vienna's Himmelpfortgrund suburb and died in Vienna in November 1828, aged 31. Wikipedia credits him with more than 600 Lieder. His circle of friends held evening gatherings that became known as Schubertiads, many in a large Vienna apartment. Chamber music suits him: his String Quartet No. 14, Death and the Maiden, dates from the winter of 1825 to 1826.
From the calendar to the last note
Five steps between choosing a date and leaving the church. Anything specific to your night will be in your confirmation.
Book
Choose a day on the calendar and its start times and open seats appear. The booking lets you lock in a seat today and settle the bill afterwards, and your confirmation carries the time.
Walk
The church stands on Petersplatz, next to the Graben. From the Graben a lane leads to the square, and Stephansplatz is where the Graben begins.
Settle
Church seating means wooden pews. Wear trousers or a skirt, since shorts are not allowed, and give yourself a moment to look at the dome before the music begins.
Listen
A small ensemble plays classical favourites. The programme may change. Video recording is not allowed, so keep the phone in your pocket.
After
The pedestrian streets of the inner city are right outside, with plenty of places to eat. Dinner is your own plan, separate from the ticket.
What the ticket is, and isn't
Seven short entries covering what the ticket holds and what it leaves out.
A church or a concert hall?
| Question | The church concert | The Musikverein concert |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | A baroque church begun around 1701, with a fresco-painted dome. | A concert hall that opened in 1870, built for the Society of Friends of Music. |
| Length | About one hour. | About two hours. |
| Seating | Church pews. | Concert-hall seating; check the open seats on the booking page. |
| Where | Petersplatz, beside the Graben. | Musikvereinsplatz. |
| Music | Chamber ensemble: Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn. | A classical programme; the booking page shows the current one. |
| Best for | A short, atmospheric hour in the old centre. | A longer evening in a famous hall. |
Inside and around the church
The nave and choir, the dome seen from below, the Graben beside the church, the organ gallery, the pulpit and the façade on Petersplatz.
Around the concert
The church concert comes first. After it come a hall concert at the Musikverein, a Christmas and New Year's concert in the same church and a museum of sound, for the other hours of a Vienna trip.
A chamber ensemble plays classical favourites beneath the dome of a baroque church on Petersplatz, in about an hour.
A concert of about two hours at the Musikverein, the building that opened in 1870 for the Society of Friends of Music.
A seasonal concert of about an hour in the same church, with its own booking page and its own dates.
An interactive museum of sound in a palace where a founder of the Vienna Philharmonic once lived.
More bookings in Vienna
Finding it and what to bring
St Peter's Church stands on Petersplatz in the first district. Wikipedia says it is right next to the Graben, near the Plague Column, and the Wien Geschichte Wiki lists it at Petersplatz.
The Graben begins where Stephansplatz ends, so the walk is along a pedestrian street. Wikipedia says the Graben became Vienna's first pedestrian zone in November 1974. The Stephansplatz U-Bahn station lies under the square.
Shorts are not allowed. The ticket lists no other dress rule, and the venue is a church, so dress as you would for one.
The seats are church pews, which are wooden benches. Recent visitors mention hard seating, so allow for an hour on a bench and arrive in time to choose where you sit.
The ticket rules out video recording. For photographs, follow any signs in the church.
A separate Christmas and New Year's concert takes place in the same church, with its own booking page and its own dates. The regular concert and the seasonal one are different tickets.
More to read
FAQ
Yes, for one hour of live chamber music in a baroque church beside the Graben. It suits visitors who want atmosphere more than scale. If you want an orchestra or a long evening, a hall concert is the better choice.
A seat at the concert by Classic Ensemble Vienna in St Peter's Church. Transport, food and drink sit outside it. The ticket bans shorts and video recording.
About one hour. Your date's start time is on the calendar, and the confirmation email repeats it.
Shorts are not allowed. The ticket lists no other dress rule, and the venue is a church, so dress as you would for one.
Not necessarily. The ticket names Vivaldi, Schubert, Beethoven and Haydn, with Mozart and Bach in the description, but the operator may change the programme.
On Petersplatz, right next to the Graben. From Stephansplatz you walk along the Graben, a pedestrian street, and a lane leads to the church.
They are church pews, which are wooden benches, and recent visitors mention that they can be hard. Plan for about an hour on a bench.
No. It is a separate concert in the same church, with its own booking page and its own dates.
Yes: a cancellation up to 24 hours ahead costs nothing on GetYourGuide, and payment can wait until after you have chosen your seat.
No. This is an independent guide, not the website of the church, the ensemble or any concert operator, and it is not affiliated with them. Concerts are booked with GetYourGuide.
The price appears in whichever currency you pick, taxes and fees included.