Salzburg - House of Nature

(Local Name: Haus der Natur) From Anton-Neumayr-Platz, Salzburg's Museumsplatz extends northward to the Franz-Josef-Kai on the banks of the Salzach, with the Haus der Natur on the left and the Museum Carolino Augusteum on the right. The Haus der Natur, in a former Ursuline convent, graphically illustrates in its 80 rooms all aspects of nature and geology as well as the conquest and use of outer space: the animals of the prehistoric world, with full size models of dinosaurs and reptiles, an aquarium, display of coral and one devoted to Tibet, special exhibitions of the mineralogy and geology of the Salzburg region, the animals of Europe and other continents (including skeletons), a reptile zoo, the Space Hall with a diorama of the landing on the moon, models of space rockets, a space city of the future and explanations of how the universe was formed. Also forming part of the old Ursuline convent is the Markuskirche (Church of St Mark), built by J. B. Fischer von Erlach between 1699-1705. A short way to the northwest stands the Klausentor (Gate; 1612).