Salzburg
Salt Castle
General Information
Other Name: -, District: Salzburg , State: Salzburg, Austria
Area: 0 -
Languages Spoken: -
Long Distance Code: 0662
Importance: The Salzburg Festival is a famous music festival that attracts visitors during the months of July and August each year. A smaller Salzburg Easter Festival is held around Easter each year.
Best Time to Visit: January to March and April
International Access: Connected to all the major cities of Austria.Description
Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburg''s "Old Town" with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its Alpine setting. It is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the setting for parts of the musical and film The Sound of Music, which features famous landmarks in Austria, but focuses mainly on Salzburg. Salzburg is also a student city, with three universities.Location
Salzburg is on the banks of the Salzach river, at the northern boundary of the Alps. The mountains to Salzburg''s south contrast with the rolling plains to the north. The closest alpine peak – the 1972 m Untersberg – is only a few kilometers from the city center. The Altstadt, or "old town", is dominated by its baroque towers and churches and the massive Festung Hohensalzburg. This area is surrounded by two smaller mountains, the Mönchsberg and Kapuzinerberg as the green lung of the city. Salzburg is approximately 150 km east of Munich, and 300 km west of Vienna.Climate
Temperate Continental Climate
This building was built at the beginning of the 20th century by the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum. Today, it is mainly used by the Mozarteum music academy. There are teaching and practice rooms and two concert halls. In the ''Grosser Saal'' (large concert hall) concerts with international performers are often held. In the second half of January there are the concerts that are part the ''Mozartwoche'' (Mozart week). If you want to visit this building be discreet. The porter doesn''t like tourists walking around inside. But if you are not in a group, just enter and walk straight up to the first and second floor where you can hear students practising and you can get a taste the Mozarteum''s atmosphere.
The area around Getreidegasse, Judengasse, and the Alter Markt dates back to the 12th Century. The buildings were lived in, as well as being sites for trade and commerce. In the 15th Century, development of this burghers'' quarter was pretty much finished. The Old Townhall is situated where Getreidegasse and Judengasse are separated by the Kranzlmarkt. Built around 1400, the building was acquired by the city government some years later. Many changes and additions have been made since then. The marble portal dates from about 1600, its present appearance mainly dates back to the end of the 18th Century.
At some point in the period 710-720 a bishop named Rupert left Worms and set foot on Salzburg soil. He began erecting a main church, a monastery and a convent (Nonnberg Convent) upon the ruins of the abandoned old Roman settlement of ''Juvavum'', today the district of St. Peter. All of the constructions are still standing and viewable today, albeit in a modernised fashion. It was first in Rupert''s times that the town on the Salzach was called ''Salzburg''; prior to this names such as ''Juvavum'' or ''Salzburch'' were more common. Consequently, Rupert is honoured as Salzburg''s city patron every year with a town celebration on the 24th of September. On this day in 774 the first cathedral bishop, Virgil, moved Rupert''s body to the cathedral. Where Rupert died is unknown, but he almost certainly passed away between 718 and 720.
The Cathedral Museum is quite new, only being founded in 1974. The Cathedral itself provides the dignified frame for exquisite objects from the Cathedral treasure, among it Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich''s monstrance, liturgical tools dating back to the Middle Ages, the famous St. Rupert`s crucifix from the 8th Century, sculptures and paintings by Johann Michael Rottmayr and Paul Troger. Beyond them the Art and Rarities Collection contains curiosities from the 17th Century and it''s not always clear whether they belong to nature, science or art.
The Holy Trinity Church is one part of a group of buildings including the Seminary, and St. Virgils College near Schloss Mirabell. Within the so-called St. Andra quarter, this church constructed in 1694 by the famous Baroque master builder Fischer v. Erlach is the most significant eye-catcher of the small square. The twin towers within a sweeping facade are definitely one of the most excellent examples of the unexaggerated Baroque style. The fresco in the church by Johann Michael Rottmayr is also well worth seeing.
One of the largest ice caves in the world, Eisriesenwelt makes a fantastic day trip from Salzburg. Located near Werfen, visitors can reach the caves on a cable railway or on foot, although the 6km walk will take over an hour. A guided tour through the imposing caves takes about 70 minutes. Good shoes and warm clothing are absolutely essential as the temperature is always below freezing
Salzburg''s most famous poet Georg Trakl about St. Peter''s Cemetery: "Heaven smiles silently upon this mystical garden." Strong words of course, but the poet is right. As a matter of fact, this wonderful cemetery is one of the oldest of its kind in the world. Famous personalities like Michael Haydn, brother of Joseph Haydn and composer, Mozart''s sister, Nannerl, and the architect of Salzburg''s Cathedral Santino Solari have all been laid to rest here. There are also catacombs carved out of stone, which are over 1000 years old. Tip: Just take a walk there and feel the mystical atmosphere. The entrance is free.
The 11th-century Hohensalzburg Castle stands on a rocky outcrop approximately 394ft (120m) above the city. Although originally built by Archbishop Gebhard to repel attacks from the neighbouring Bavarians, the present-day fortress was largely rebuilt in the early 16th century by Archbishop Leonhard Von Keutschach who added the grand state apartments. Visitors can walk around the courtyard and outskirts of the fortress at no cost unless they take the guided tour around the state apartments. The tour finishes at two small museums (this is optional) that display a selection of weapons, uniforms and armour together with instruments of torture - such as the Schandmasken - which petty criminals had to don as punishment for their crimes
If you only have time to visit one of Salzburg''s many churches, make sure its the 9th-century St Peter''s Abbey Church (Stiftkirche St Peter), one of Salzburg''s most impressive Rococo buildings. The Peterskirche was built at the beginning of the 18th century on the foundations of the former church, which was founded in 792. The ornate interior is more impressive than the exterior with high marble pillars and a magnificent frescoed ceiling. The ancient catacombs that were carved into the rock face by the early Christian inhabitants are accessible only through a short guided tour.