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History of Salzburg

Salzburg is proud of its past. As an ecclesiastical principality which enjoyed the exclusive status of beeing responsible to the Emperor directly, Salzburg was ruled by archbishops, uniting both secular and ecclesiastical power. The modern city is located on the site of Roman Juvavum, a settlement which grew up on one of the major military roads of the ancient world. After the collapse of Rome, centuries passed until, in 696, Bishop Rupert founded the city anew. The face of the contemporary Salzburg, dominated by the baroque majesty of the old city, was created in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was then that the Prince-archbishops Wolf Dietrich, Markus Sittikus and Paris Lodron realized their major building programmes, thereby leaving an indelible mark on the architecture of the city.Even today, over one hundred churches, castles and palaces bear witness to the power of the Salzburg archbishops.

Tourist Attractions in Salzburg

Salzburg - Franciscan Church; Franziskanerkirche
To the north of St Peter's Church in Salzburg's Inner City stands the Franciscan Church (Franziskanerkirche), which was the town's parish church (dedicated to the Virgin) until 1635. Notable skin of the exterior are the high roof of the choir and the tower on the southern side (1468-98) with its Neo-Gothic helm roof of 1867. The dark Romanesque nave (13th C.) contrasts with the high, light Gothic choir (by Hans Stettheimer, 1408 to after 1450). In front of a ring of Baroque chapels (1606-1704) stands the high altar (1709; probably by J. B. Fischer von Erlach), with a imprinted Madonna by Michael Pacher (1498; the Child is 19th C.). In the central chapel behind the altar is a winged marble altar (1561) from the old Cathedral. Opposite the church, to the south, lies the Franciscan Friary.

Salzburg - Hohensalzburg Fortress; Festung
Salzburg's whole urban scene is dominated by the picturesque fortress of Hohensalzburg, situated to the south of the old town on the southeastern summit of the Mönchsberg (542m/1,778ft), 120m/400ft above the Salzach. It can be reached on foot (20 minutes) either from Kapitelplatz by way of Festungsgasse or from the Mönchsberg via the Schartentor, or by funicular from Festungsgasse (about one-and-a-half minutes). The castle, first built in 1077 in the reign of Archbishop Gebhard, dates in its present form mainly from about 1500, during the reign of Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach, whose heraldic device, a turnip, is everywhere to be seen. The castle was strongly fortified in the 17th C., but was abandoned in 1861. From the Festungsgasse the approach to the fortress passes through a number of arched defensive gateways under the Feuerbastei (Fire Bastion, 1681; marble coat of arms of its builder, Archbishop Count Kuenburg) to the "Reisszug", a hoist (1504) for bringing up supplies, formerly worked by horses, and then through the Rosspforte (Horse Gate) into the Haupthof (outer ward), with an ancient lime tree and a cistern of 1539. On the northern side of the courtyard is the little Georgskirche (church of St George, 1501-02), on the outer wall of which is a fine red marble relief of Archbishop Leonhard (by Hans Volkenauer, 1515). The conducted tour which begin at the Gerichtsturm or Reckturm takes in, among other features, the "Salzburg Bull" (Salzburger Stier), an organ of 1502 which is played daily after the carillon in the Neugebäude, and, on the third floor, the Princes' Apartments (Late Gothic; painted wainscoting). In the Golden Room ("Goldene Stube") note the marble doorways, the doors covered in tendrils formed from shaped iron, and a beautiful tiled stove of 1501. In the Great or Golden Hall (with gold bosses on the blue coffered ceiling) there are four columns with shafts of red Adnet marble.

Salzburg - House of Nature; 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 primitive world, with full size models of dinosaurs and reptiles, an aquarium, display of coral and one devoted to Tibet, special exhibition of the mineralogy and geology of the Salzburg region, the animals of Europe and other continents (including skeletons), a reptile zoo, the breathing 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).

Salzburg - Mirabell Gardens; Mirabellgarten
To the south of the Schloss Mirabell stretches the Mirabellgarten (also accessible from the Makartplatz), an excellent example of Baroque landscape farming laid out about 1690, probably by J. B. Fischer von Erlach, with terraces, marble statues and fountains. The former aviary (Vogelhaus, c. 1700) is now used for exhibitions, and at the southwestern corner of the gardens stands a small open air theater. Adjoining the Mirabellgarten to the west, on an old bastion, is the Bastionsgarten or Zwerglgarten ("Dwarfs' Garden"), with original figures of dwarfs.

Salzburg - Mozart's Birthplace
No. 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg is the house where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 (d. December 5, 1791 in Vienna). The rooms on the third floor which were occupied by the Mozart family are now a museum (mementos, counting the young Mozart's violin, portraits, a clavichord of 1760, a pianoforte of 1780, scores, etc.). On the second floor is an interesting exhibition, "Mozart in the Theater", with illuminated miniature stages. Mozart's father Leopold, who occupied the house from 1747 to 1753, was an excellent violinist and music teacher, who from 1762 onwards took Wolfgang and his sister "Nannerl", five years older, on concert tours throughout Europe, when the youthful musician gained great acclaim for his virtuoso piano playing.

Salzburg - Museum Carolino Augusteum
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, harmonious instruments, coins, Salzburg paintings from the 15th C. to the present day, a collection of graphic art, etc.).

Salzburg - Old Town District (near the river)
From Universitätsplatz in Salzburg a number of passages (known as "Durchhäuser" or "running between the houses") interlace 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.

Salzburg - Residenzplatz
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 spray 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.

Salzburg - St Peter's Church; Stiftskirche St Peter
Salzburg's St Peter's Church (Stiftskirche St Peter) was built in 1130-43, altered in 1605-25 and decorated in Roccoco style between 1757 and 1783. The helm tower also dates from the latter period. Inside the porch under the tower is the Romanesque west doorway (c. 1240), with sculpture in the tympanum; the Roccoco door dates from 1765. The interior, in which the plan of the Romanesque basilica can still be detected, contains many monuments of great interest. In the third chapel behind the altar is the rock-hewn tomb of St Rupert, with an epitaph of 1444, and in the fourth chapel will be found the monuments of Mozart's sister Marianne ("Nannerl"), who died in 1829 as Baroness Berchtold zu Sonnenburg, and of J. M. Haydn, the brother of Joseph. By the choir screen stand two bronze candelabra of 1609. All but two of the altarpieces on the 16 marble altars were painted by Martin Johann Schmidt of Krems, known as "Kremser Schmidt" (1718-1801). The Lady Chapel (Marienkapelle; not open to the public) of 1319 on the northern side of the church contains a stone figure of the Virgin dating from the same period as the chapel, Early Gothic frescos and later frescos of 1755.

Salzburg - St Peter's Churchyard
Salzburg's Festungsgasse leads to the venerable and impressive St Peter's Churchyard (Friedhof St Peter), bounded on three sides by arcades (1627) containing family tombs. To the south it backs on to the sheer rock face of the Mönchsberg, in which are Early Christian catacombs and St Maximus' Chapel, hewn from the solid rock. The Late Gothic St Margaret's Chapel (closed to visitors) in the center of the churchyard was built in 1485-91.

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