Salzburg Attractions

Salzburg's Museum Carolino Augusteum, named after the Empress Carolina Augusta, contains a wide range of material of artistic and cultural interest (carved altars of the 15th and 16th C., applied and decorative art, musical instruments, coins, Salzburg paintings from the 15th C. to the present day, a collection of graphic art, etc.).

From Universitätsplatz in Salzburg a number of passages (known as "Durchhäuser" or "running between the houses") weave their way northward to the old world Getreidegasse (pedestrian precinct), a busy shopping street lined with burghers' houses dating from the 15th-18th C. There are many wrought iron shop and inn signs to be seen, as well as beautiful courtyards; on No. 3 is a tablet commemorating the 19th C. politician August Bebel, who worked here as an apprentice turner in 1859-60.

The very heart of the Salzburg old town on the left bank of the Salzach is the Residenzplatz, with the Residenzbrunnen of Untersberg marble, the largest and finest Baroque fountain this side of the Alps, the work of an Italian sculptor (1656-61). It stands 15m/50ft high, with figures of bold horses, Atlas figures bearing dishes, dolphins and, crowning the whole, a Triton with a conch shell.

3km/2mi southeast of the Salzburg town center we reach the suburb of Aigen; note the church, originally Gothic, which was remodeled in Baroque style in 1698 and enlarged in 1909. The beautiful Schlosspark on the slopes of the Gaisberg (restaurant) is a popular resort of the people of Salzburg.

The Alter Markt, rising slightly towards the south of Salzburg's Old Town district, dates from the end of the 13th C. At No. 6 is the Court Pharmacy (Hofapotheke), established in 1591, with 18th C. furnishings; No. 9 is the well- known Cafe Tomaselli. In the middle of the Alter Markt stands the Marktbrunnen or Florianbrunnen (Market Fountain or St Florian's Fountain), with an octagonal basin (1687) and a beautiful spiral grille (Renaissance, 1583).

To the northwest of Salzburg's Bürgerspitalplatz by way of the Gstättentor (1618), on the line of the medieval town walls, and the narrow Gstättengasse (note the baker's shop of 1429 on the right at No. 4) lies Anton-Neumayr-Platz, with the Marienbrunnen (Fountain of the Virgin) of 1691. On the left can be seen the Mönchsberg lift (built 1948), in the entrance hall of which are mosaics depicting views of Salzburg in 1553 and 1818.

A short way to the east of Salzburg's Chiemseehof, at Hellbrunner Strasse 3 beyond the Law Courts, can be found the Künstlerhaus (Artists' House), with periodic special exhibitions.

The Salzburg Concert Society hosts numerous concerts throughout the year. Internationally-acclaimed orchestras and soloists take part in the performances. Special concerts and charity galas are always held on or around Bach's birthday on March 24.

The performances are held in various venues throughout the city.

A short distance north of Sigmundsplatz in Salzburg lies the little triangular Bürgerspitalplatz, on the western side of which, leaning against the rock wall of the Mönchsberg, is the three-story arcade of the Hospital (Spital), closed in 1898, which now houses the study collections of the Museum Carolino Augusteum and the Toy Museum.

In Salzburg's Max-Reinhardt-Platz can be seen the Fish Fountain (1610), and on the far side of the square the Furtwänglerpark, with the oldest monument to Schiller in Austria (1859). On the northern side of the little park stands the Kollegienkirche (College Church), built by J. B. Fischer von Erlach (1694-1707) for the University: a cruciform church on a centralized plan in mature Baroque style, it has an exciting facade and a high central dome.

To the west of the Salzburg Cathedral lies the Domplatz, linked by archways (1658-63) with the squares to north and south and thus appearing totally enclosed. In the middle of the square stands a Mariensäule (column bearing a figure of the Virgin) of 1771. Here since 1920 Hugo von Hofmannsthal's play "Jedermann" ("Everyman") has been performed annually during the Salzburg Festival. The square is bounded on the south by St Peter's Abbey.

On a hill in the park adjoining Schloss Hellbrunn in Salzburg stands the "Monatsschlosschen", a hunting lodge built in 1615 and so called because it was occupied for only one month in the year; since 1924 it has housed the Salzburg Folklore Museum. The collection gives an insight into the folk culture of the Salzburg region, including furniture, religious folk art, verre églomisé, figures in costume, etc.

To the east of Salzburg, on the right bank of the Salzach 1km/0.75mi from the Staatsbrücke, lies the Volksgarten (Franz-Josef-Park), with a large open air swimming pool, sports facilities, mini-golf and an ice rink.

At No. 9 on Salzburg's Steingasse is the house in which the local priest, Josef Mohr (1792-1848), author of the well-known Christmas carol "Silent Night", was born.

To the east of Salzburg's Alter Markt other narrow and twisting lanes - including the Judengasse leading to Mozartplatz - typify the old town, which extends beyond Mozartplatz into the Kaiviertel ("Quay Quarter").

In Kapitelplatz, to the south of the Salzburg Cathedral, can be seen the Kapitelschwemme (1732), a magnificent horsetrough of white marble with a group depicting Neptune. On the eastern side of the square stands the Archbishop's Palace (Erzbischöfliches Palais), built in 1602 as the chapterhouse with the coats of arms of the 24 canons of that period over the gateway in Kapitelgasse.

To the east or Kurgarten in Salzburg rears the Kapuzinerberg (638m/2,093ft), the right-bank counterpart of the Mönchsberg, and which is also covered in beautiful park-like woodland. The conspicuous Capuchin Friary (Kapuzinerkloster) on the hill was built in 1599-1602 within an old medieval fortification. Along the southern side of the hill runs the Steingasse, a well-preserved medieval street, with the Steintor, a gate in the original town walls, which was given its present form in 1634.

To the north the Mirabellgarten extends into the Kurgarten, on the northern side of which stand the Kongresshaus (accommodation for 2,500 people, restaurant), the Hotel Sheraton and the Paracelsus-Heilbad, with an enclosed swimming pool and Kurmittelhaus (spa treatment). The main railroad station (Hauptbahnhof) lies about 1km/0.75mi to the north.

In Sigmundsplatz. to the west of Salzburg's Paris Lodron University, stands the Martstallschwemme or Pferdeschwemme (1695), a handsome horse trough in the form of a fountain, with a group "The Horse-Tamer" by Michael Bernhard Mandl. In years gone by these horse troughs were used to wash the animals down before taking them back to the stables.

In the eastern continuation of Salzburg's Steingasse, Arenbergstrasse (No. 8-10), will be found Schloss Arenberg, with the Max Reinhardt Research and Memorial Foundation, commemorating the great theater director who died in exile in 1944. The Foundation, mainly dedicated to research, houses documents relating to Reinhardt's life and work as well as the archives of the Salzburg Festival; it also holds exhibitions on the history of the theater.

At its northern end of Salzburg's Dreifaltigkeitsgasse enters the elongated Mirabellplatz, the real nucleus of the newer part of the town. Off this square to the right branches Paris-Lodron-Strasse, on the right of which stands the little Loreto Church (with a sacred image known as the "Salzburger Kindl"), which originally belonged to a convent of Capuchin nuns. At the end of Mirabellplatz, on the right, stands the Parish Church of St Andrew (St Andrä), originally a Neo-Gothic brick building (1898), with an altar commemorating those who died in the two world wars.

At No. 8 in the Makartplatz in Salzburg can be found the Mozart House, occupied by Leopold Mozart and his family from 1773 to 1780. After suffering bomb damage it was faithfully rebuilt as the "Tanzmeistersaal".

In Salzburg's Mozartplatz can be seen a Mozart Monument by Ludwig Schwanthaler (1842). At Waagplatz No. 1 is the house in which the poet and lyricist Georg Trakl (1887-1914) was born. The Waagplatz is the town's oldest market square (c. 1000).

Adjoining the Marionette Theater, at No. 26 Schwarzstrasse in Salzburg, is the Mozarteum, built in 1910-14 for the College of Music and the Performing Arts, with the Academy of Music, concert halls and the Mozart Archives. In the garden stands the Zauberflötenhäuschen ("Magic Flute House"; conducted tour in combination with Mozart House, July to Aug.), a wooden hut transferred here from the old Freihaustheater in Vienna and in which Mozart composed "The Magic Flute" in five months in 1791.

Opposite the Salzburg Residenz is the Neugebäude (New Building), erected in 1592-1602 as the Archbishop's guest-house and enlarged about 1670, which now contains provincial government offices and the Head Post Office (southern end). The tower houses a carillon (Glockenspiel) of 35 bells (1702), which plays Mozart tunes three times daily (at 7 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.; conducted tours begin at 10.45 a.m. and 5.45 p.m.), when the Hornwerk organ (the "Salzburg Bull") in the Hohensalzburg responds with a chorale.

Between the Festspielhaus and the Pferdeschwemme in Salzburg runs the Neutor, a tunnel 123m/134yds long cut through the Mönchsberg in 1764-67 to the district of Riedenburg (vehicles and pedestrians; underground garage).

The Salzburg Palace houses the city's finest concert Halls, including the Mirabell Palace Marble Hall and the Prince Archbishop's Residence, where even Mozart himself performed.

The Palace was first open for public concerts in 1954, and has since hosted over 10,000 performances.

Over 200 concerts are scheduled on average every year, including special events such as Christmas and New Year's performances and various competitions.

To the west of Salzburg's College Church stands the Paris Lodron University, founded in 1964 and occupying the buildings (Studiengebäude,1618-31) of the former Benedictine University which was dissolved in 1810. The Aula Academica, in Early Neo-Classical style, forms part of the central range of buildings. There are new university buildings in the district of Salzburg-Nonntal.

At the eastern end of Salzburg's Getreidegasse lies the Kranzmarkt with the old Rathaus (Town Hall). Around the Rathaus stand many old burghers' houses, which were already reaching heights of four or five stories in medieval times, with broken facades and a low blank wall running along the base of the roof.

On the right bank of the Salzach, below the Kapuzinerberg, lie the more modern parts of Salzburg, linked to the old by several bridges, including the Staatsbrücke, the Makartsteg and the Mozartsteg.

From the Salzburg Franciscan Church it is only a short distance to the Rupertinum, a building in Wiener-Philharmoniker-Gasse (No. 9). This house, built by Archbishop Paris Lodron as the "Collegium Rupertinum", now houses the Rupertinum Collection of 20th-century painting, graphic art, sculpture and photography. Particularly worthy of mention are the almost complete collection of prints by Kokoschka, as well as work by Kirchner, Nolde, Heckel, Kubin and Schiele, and a photograph gallery.

On the western slopes of the hill adjoining Schloss Hellbrunn in Salzburg lies the Zoo, opened in 1960.

To the south of Salzburg, on the Leopoldskroner Weiher (pond; 20 minutes' walk from Salzburg-Nonntal), stands Schloss Leopoldskron, a splendid Roccoco palace (1736) of one Archbishop of Salzburg, later owned by Max Reinhardt and his heirs (1918-56).

It is now the seat of the "Salzburg Global Seminar," an international NGO founded in 1947, that convenes with present and future leaders from around the world to solve issues of global concern.

On the left of Salzburg's Mirabellplatz stands Schloss Mirabell, originally built by Archbishop Wolf Dietrich in 1606 for his favorite, Salome Alt, sumptuously remodeled in Baroque style by J. L. Hildebrandt in 1721-27 and restored in the simpler Neo-Classical style of the period after a fire in 1818; the offices of the Bürgermeister and of the municipality are now housed in the building.

The Gärtnergebäude ("Gardener's Building") of the Schloss Mirabell 's Orangery now houses the Salzburg Baroque Museum, exhibiting European art of the 17th and 18th C.

In the west wing of Schloss Mirabell is the marble Grand Staircase of the 18th C. building, with putti and statues by Georg Raphael Donner and his pupils (1726). The Marble Hall (open to the public) is used for concerts and weddings.

To the northeast of the Franz-Josef-Park (approach road 2km/1.25mi) in the Salzburg suburb of Gnigl at the foot of the Kühberg (702m/2,304ft), an outlier of the Gaisberg, stands Schloss Neuhaus (private property), first recorded in 1219, then rebuilt in 1424 and 1851.

At an angle to the Bürgerspital in Salzburg's inner city stands the early Gothic Blasiuskirche (St Blaise's), consecrated in 1350 as the hospital church, which contains a carved 15th C. tabernacle.

On the northern side of the Salzburg Residenzplatz, at the corner of Mozartplatz, stands the charming little Michaelskirche (St Michael's Church, 1767-76; basically Romanesque but with many alterations); it was the town's parish church from the eighth to the 12th C.

Behind the Salzburg Folk Museum is the Watzmann-Aussicht (viewpoint), and nearby the Steinernes Theater (or Stein Theater - Stone Theater), a natural gorge, artificially widened, in which the first performance of an opera in German-speaking territory was given in 1617.

You can purchase tickets to all festivals, sightseeing tours, concerts, and every other event held in Salzburg from this store, located on the city's main street.

The Toy and Doll Museum in Salzburg is of interest to children and collectors of toys and dolls.

A little way to the northwest of Salzburg's Platzl lies Makartplatz, on the eastern side of which stands the Trinity Church (Dreifaltigkeitskirche), a domed Baroque structure with a semi-oval shaped facade by J. B. Fischer von Erlach (1694-1702). The dome-fresco is by Rottmayr.

From Steingasse a stepped lane (about 260 steps) leads up to the Capuchin Friary, which can also be reached from the Linzer Gasse on a Way of the Cross (18th C. chapels) and through the Felixpforte, a gate in the 1632 town walls. From the friary it is 20minutes' climb to the Aussicht nach Bayern ("View of Bavaria", 573m/1,880ft), and from there another 10minutes to the Obere Stadtaussicht ("Upper View of the Town", 606m/1,990ft), with superb views of the town, the Hohensalzburg and the mountains. A short distance to the east stands the Franziskischlössl (633m/2,078ft), which dates from 1629.