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Salzburg On the Salzach River

Austrian city where "The Sound of Music" was filmed

By Rasma RaistersPublished about a year ago 9 min read
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This is the lovely Austrian city on the German border where the hills came alive with the sound of music. In and around Salzburg, where many of the scenes of the popular movie about the Trapp Family Singers, “The Sound of Music” was filmed so many years ago. There are tours available that take you to all the familiar sights seen on the silver screen. Salzburg is divided by the Salzach River. The city has impressive Medieval and Baroque-style buildings with the pedestrian Old City on the left bank and the 19th-century New City on the right bank. It is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Salzburg is a picturesque city stretching along both banks of the River Salzach. The river flows from the Salzburg Alps into lower land, which is dominated by the 1,853-meter Untersberg. 

The Old Town from University Square has many passageways known as “Durchhauser” which wind northward to Getreidegasse. It is a busy pedestrian area that has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is lined with quaint old merchant homes that date back to the 15th and 18th centuries. Walking in the Old Town you can find old courtyards. There are boutique shops, art galleries, cafes, and restaurants. 

The Kranzlmarkt is located at the eastern end of Getreidegasse. Here you'll find the old Town Hall. In the Old Market is the Court Pharmacy from the 13th century, and in the middle of the square, you'll find St. Florian's Fountain, which is a landmark known for its unique octagonal basin and spiral grill from 1583. 

Also in the Old Town is the Judengasse, with narrow, twisting lanes, and the Chiemseehof built in 1305 and was once the residence of the Prince Bishops of Chiemsee until 1806. It has a lovely arcaded courtyard decorated with coats of arms. 

A well-known landmark of Salzburg is Fortress Hohensalzburg. This is a large 900-year-old fortress sitting atop a cliff. It is one of the biggest and best preserved in Europe. Here you can roam about the castle, and the ramparts and enjoy spectacular views of the city rooftops, the Salzach River, and the mountains. Riding in the glass-enclosed Festungsbahn funicular, you’ll be at the top in 15 minutes. It was built in 1077 by Gebhard von Helfenstein, but Leonard von Keutschach, prince-archbishop of Salzburg, from 1495 to 1519 added much to its splendor. 

The highlights here include the Golden Hall, where a gold-studded ceiling reminds one of a starry night sky. The Marionette Museum will amaze you with a skeleton-in-the-box. The Fortress Museum has a 1612 model of Salzburg, medieval instruments, armor, and an array of torture devices are all on display. 

Kapitelplatz or Chapter Square is a spacious square bordered by the Cathedral, archiepiscopal palace, and the novice’s wing of St. Peter’s Monastery.

The highlight of the square, though a bit secluded, is Chapter Fountain. It was built on the spot of a former horse pond used during the Middle Ages. The new fountain was modeled after Roman fountains by Franz Anton Danreiter. A ramp used by horses to access the water leads to the figures of Neptune, a sea god, holding a trident and crown, mounted on a seahorse spurting water. This Baroque figure was sculpted by Josef Anton Pfaffinger. A chronogram with Archbishop Firmian’s coat of arms can be found above the niche.

On the western side of Salzburg's Kapitelplatz stands the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter (Erzabtei St. Peter). It was founded by St. Rupert in 690 CE and served as the residence of the Archbishops until 1110.

The highlights here include St. Peter's Churchyard, a burial ground that is surrounded on three sides by arcades and family tombs from the 17th century. The churchyard backs into the rock face of the Monchsberg on the south side. The early Christian catacombs and St. Maximus' Chapel, are carved from solid rock.

There is a passage that leads from the churchyard into the outer courtyard, where you'll find St. Peter's Fountain built in 1673. Here is also the Haydn memorial, which depicts the life and work of Johann Michael Haydn, brother of well-known composer Joseph Haydn.

Nonnberg Abbey, another important landmark in Salzburg, was founded in 714 CE. The abbey is the site of Europe's oldest restaurant, St. Peter Stiftskulinarium, founded prior to 803 CE. 

St. Peter's Church is one of the oldest and most attractive churches in the city. It has gone through many transformations and was decorated in Rococo style between 1757 and 1783, at which time the helm tower was added. The church is referred to as the “Abbey Church” since it is located within the St. Peter's Abbey complex.

Notable monuments here include the rock-hewn tomb of St. Rupert. Those dedicated to Mozart's sister Marianne and to JM Hayden, brother of Joseph. There are painted altarpieces on the sixteen marble altars, and the Lady Chapel, containing a stone figure of the Virgin, along with early Gothic frescoes and later frescoes from 1755. 

The Franciscan Church is located to the north of St. Peter's Church. The interior has a 13th-century Romanesque nave and a 15th-century Gothic choir.

The Residenzplatz is a much-photographed square with a palace, street entertainers, and horse-drawn carriages. The centerpiece is the Residenzbrunnen, a huge marble fountain surrounded by four water-spouting horses and topped by a conch-shell bearing Triton. This is the square that Maria crosses in “The Sound of Music” to get the bus taking her from the Nonnberg Convent to the Trapp Family villa while singing “I Have Confidence.”



The Residenzgalerie, an art gallery established in 1923 displays artworks of European painters from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The collection includes paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, and Brueghel.

Opposite the Salzburg Residenz is the New Building (Neugebäude), erected in 1602 as the Archbishop's guesthouse and enlarged in 1670. Now home to provincial government offices and the Salzburg Museum, the building is famous for its carillon, the famous Glockenspiel.

It was built in 1702. It contains 35 bells that play tunes from Mozart's vast repertoire three times per day (7 am, 11 am, and 6 pm). Guided tours of the tower offering a unique view of the workings of this impressive mechanism are available.

A highlight of the experience is hearing the famous Salzburg Bull, the organ in neighboring Hohensalzburg Palace, responding to the carillon with a chorale. Also, be sure to visit the lovely 18th-century St. Michael's Church (Michaelskirche) on the north side of the Residenzplatz, at the corner of Mozartplatz with its Mozart Monument from 1842.

The Salzburg Museum has found its home in the Baroque Neue Residenz Palace, where visitors can learn about the history of Salzburg to the present. There are ornate rooms displaying everything from Roman excavations to prince-archbishop portraits. Free tours are available every Thursday. 

You can start your visit in the illuminated Kunsthalle with rotating exhibits of artworks. Upstairs are the prince-archbishop portraits. Among the highlights are early 16th-century Milleflori tapestry, Archbishop Wolf Dietrich's gold-embroidered shoe, and Flemish tapestries. 

To get a look at the life of composer Mozart, visit the Mozart Wohnhaus. This one-time residence displays family portraits, documents, and instruments. Your visit is accompanied by an audio guide. Here you’ll also see Mozart’s original fortepiano. This is where Mozart composed such musical compositions as the Shephard King and Idomeneo. A regular guest here was Mozart’s close friend Emanuel Schikaneder, who was the librettist of The Magic Flute. Visitors can also enjoy a film and music archive which includes some 25,000 audiovisual recordings. 

A masterpiece of Baroque is the Salzburg Cathedral or Dom, with its large copper dome and 79-meters tall twin spires. Bronze portals that symbolize faith, hope, and charity lead the way into the cathedral. In the nave, visitors can see the intricate stucco and ceiling frescoes depicting the Passion of Christ by Arsenio Mascagni, leading eyes up to the polychrome dome. During the Thirty Years’ War, Italian architect Santino Solari redesigned the cathedral, and it was consecrated in 1628. 

The west front of the cathedral facing the Domplatz has four colossal marble statues. The outer ones represent St. Rupert and Virgil, patron saints of the province, The inner ones depict Peter and Paul.

Among the highlights here are its three massive bronze doors with symbols of Faith, Love, and Hope. The high altar with the painting Resurrection from 1628, and the frescoes in the vaulting. 

The Cathedral Museum features a collection of liturgical objects and artworks from the Salzburg archdiocese. Among them are the 8th-century Carolingian Cross of St. Rupert, Gothic statues and paintings, and items from the Cathedral Treasury. 

The Museum of Modern Art sits on the cliffs of the Monchsberg. The building is an impressive combination of glass and marble. On display are temporary exhibitions of 20th and 21st-century artworks. The Monchsberg Lift takes visitors to the gallery. Free guided tours are available on Wednesdays.

The Monchsberg is one of the five mountains in Salzburg and offers great views of the city. There are plenty of woodland walking trails to get close to nature. It was named after the Benedictine monks of St. Peter's Abbey at the northern foot of the mountain. 

The Salzburg Puppet Theater is enjoyed by both adults and children. They have a great repertoire including The Sound of Music, with a life-sized Mother Superior, and a finale with many marionettes. Other performances include The Magical Flute by Mozart, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, and Strauss' Die Fledermaus. All of them have multilingual subtitles. 

The beautiful Schloss Mirabell was built by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich for his mistress Salome Alt in 1606. The Marble Hall has impressive stucco, marble, and frescoes. The palace hosts evening chamber concerts. There is a lovely garden for strolling and many fountains to enjoy. “Sound of Music” fans will recognize the Pegasus statue and the steps where the von Trapp children practiced “Do-Re-Me.”

Hellbrunn is located on the edge of the city with a lovely landscaped park. Visitors enjoy the trick fountains. You can enjoy lovely, peaceful strolls here and have fun with the fountains. There are three rooms arranged for display – the music chamber, the “Fasnacht” room, and the Festival Hall. Eventually, a total of ten rooms will house the “Markus Sittikus – My View of the World” exhibition. The park is the site of the gazebo and grand alley of trees used in filming “The Sound of Music”. In December, the gardens are home to a Christmas Market.

Mark Sittikus had the rock quarry at Hellbrunn turned into what today has become known as the oldest open-air theater in Europe, the Steintheater.

The Hellbrunner Monatsscholsschen was built in 1615 for Archbishop Markus Sittikus. It is home to the folk museum that is part of the Salzburg Museum. The manor overlooks Hellbrunn Park and has collections of regional folklore, among them furnishings, popular medicine, and lovely Trachten or traditional costumes worn in the Salzburg Valley regions. Each summer there are special exhibitions. Visitors enjoy the walking path from Hellbrunn Park leading through a lovely forest and up to the folk museum. The museum sits upon a hill that offers great views of Hellbrunn Palace and Hohensalzburg Fortress. 



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About the Creator

Rasma Raisters

My passions are writing and creating poetry. I write for several sites online and have four themed blogs on Wordpress. Please follow me on Twitter.

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