Austria City Guide: Salzburg
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Salzburg Panorama
© Salzburg Tourismus |
Salzburg
- Birthplace of Mozart
- Most of the Baroque architecture survived the bombings in World
War II
- Now a World Heritage Site (Old City)
- Picturesque mountain setting
- Reborn as a tourist center in part thanks to Julie Andrews
- Population of 150,000
- city located on the River Salzach
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Salzberg is a showcase of natural and manmade
beauty: an alpine paradise, a 'baroque jewel', the home of the immortal
Mozart, a World Heritage site,
and backdrop to the heartwarming antics of Julie Andrews in The
Sound of Music - all in all a stunningly beautiful city. First,
a bit of history.
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Salzburg Panorama
© Salzburg Tourismus |
The area around what is now Salzburg was settled around 15 BC.
The town was controlled by the Romans and called Juvavum.
The city's fortress, the Festung Hohensalzburg, was built
in 1077 and expanded over ensuing centuries. The city won its independence
from Bavaria in the 14th century.
The next notable period in the city's history began on Halloween
in 1731 when Roman Catholic Archbishop Count Leopold Anton von Firmian
signed his Edict of Expulsion banishing Protestants from the city.
Land was seized and children under twelve forced to be raised as
Catholics. Non-land owners were given 8 days to leave Salzburg.
Many fled to areas of Germany that were under Protestant rule. Many
died or were robbed en route. Refugees fled to as far away as the
British colonies in the US.
In 1805, Salzburg was annexed into Austria, briefly returned to
Bavaria, and then finally, in 1816, rejoined Austria. There it remained
until 1938, when the Nazis, led by the Austrian Adolf Hitler, invaded
and occupied his native land.
The city owes its wealth and patronage of the arts to the rule
of a succession of powerful prince-archbishops, who commissioned
most of the city's beautiful baroque buildings, investing profits
from their control of the lucrative salt trade in nearby Hallein.
The prince-archbishops only lost control of the city in 1816 after
the Napoleonic Wars when the Congress of Vienna awarded Salzburg
to Austria.
Allied bombing destroyed many homes but the cathedral and much
of the city survived. 2006 marked the 250th anniversary of native
son Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birth.
The city is split by the River Salzach, with the Aldstadt located
on the left bank (linkes Salzachufer) and the main station
on the right bank (rechtes Salzachufer).
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Mozarts Geburtshaus
© Salzburg Tourismus |
Today most tourists begin in the city's Altstadt, or Old
City. The center of the Old City is located at Mozartplatz.
Mozartplatz is dominated by a monument to Mozart unveiled in 1842,
51 years after the composer's death.
In this area is the Residenz, the palace of the city's princes.
Inside there is a gallery that houses Dutch and Flemish works. €7.25
for adults. Nearby is the Glockenspiel, the amazing carillon
tower that plays tunes by Mozart at 7 am, 11 am, and 6 pm. Mozarts
Geburtshaus is the building in which the master was born in
1756. €5.50.
Salzburg's Cathedral is located in Cathedral Square
(Domplatz). This has been the site of a cathedral since the
year 774, but the ravages of time and war mean that two more consecrations
of renovated/rebuilt structures have taken place since then in 1628
and, most recently, in 1959 after damage in World War II. Salzburg
Cathedral's baptismal font is famous for having been the one that
Mozart was baptised in. He became court organist and concert master,
meaning that much of sacred music was composed specifically for
perforance in this edifice. It main organ and its cathedral portals
are both staggering in their ornate grandeur. Open 6.30am-5pm in
winter, 6.30am-7pm in summer.
Hohensalzburg Fortress is over 900 years old,
and is the largest fully intact fortress in central Europe. It features
the living quarters of medieval princes, beautifully decorated with
fine woodcarvings in the Gothic style, as well as a museum. Open
9.30 am-5 pm Jan-Apr & Oct-Dec; 9am-6 pm May, Jun, Sep, advent-weekends,
Easter; 9am-7 pm Jul, Aug. NB. Last entrance 30 minutes before closing
time.
At Mönchsberg 34. Accessible by funicular railway from the
Festungsgasse.
On the opposite side of the Salzach River, but an easy walk, are
the Mirabell Gardens. €3.00, and the Mirabell Palace,
now the City Hall, and is free. Mozart Wohnhaus, where the
Mozart family lived from 1773-1787, is also on the right bank and
has been rebuilt after World War II damage and features high-tech,
multi-media exhibits of the composer's life and works. Nearby is
the 18th century Dreifaltigkeitskirche an exquisite church
designed by Fischer von Erlach - Austria's most influential architect
of the baroque period. Von Erlach also built the Kollegienkirche
and the Markuskirche in the Old Town.
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Hellbrunn Palace
© Salzburg Tourismus |
Just outside Salzburg's main center to the south is Schloss
Hellbrunn, an Italian-style summer palace built for the fun-loving
Archbishop Marcus Sitticus by Italian architect Santino Solari in
1619. The extensive grounds contain a water garden (Wasserspiele)
with bizarre fountains, the Volksmuseum (containing folk
costumes and festival effigies) and Hellbrunn Zoo. Take bus
#25 from Salzburg station.
A further 7km south still is St Leonhard where there is
a cable car to the summit of Untersberg (1853m).
12km west of town towards the German border near Grossgmain is
Salzburg's Open Air Museum (Salzburger Freilichtsmuseum)
with a collection of re-assembled traditional farm houses from all
over the region and demonstrations of folk art and crafts. Bus #180.
Also just over the German border, south west of Salzburg is the wonderful scenery of Berchtesgaden
and Adolf Hitler's mountain lodge Eagle's Nest, built on the occasion of the dictator's 50th birthday.
Nightlife
Music and opera predominate. The Salzburger Festspiel -
which began in 1920 - is one of the premier opera events in the
world with opera and classical music performances from late July
to late August. Mozartwoche (Mozart Week) is a celebration
of the composer's music around his birthday on January 27 every
year. The Landestheater, Salzburg's main theatrical venue,
has performances throughout the year.
Gambling is also available at Casino. (Tel: 0662 854455).
Free to enter. Jacket and tie and passport required. There is a
free shuttle to and from hotels.
The Shamrock Irish Pub is a more down to earth option. (Tel:
0662 841610).
Shopping
The best areas for shopping are along Getreidegasse and
Judengasse.
Tourist Offices
Salzburg Tourismus
Mozartplatz 5
Tel: 0662 889 87 330
tourist@salzburg.info
There is also a tourist information kiosk on platform 2A at Salzburg's
main station.
The small village of Grödig, 8km south of Salzburg,
also has a tourist office, and is a alternative place to stay if
Salzburg's accommodation is full. Take bus #25 from Salzburg station.
Grodig Tourismus
Gartenauerstrasse 8
Tel: 06246 73570
Getting There
The Salzburg airport has regular service to London, Dusseldorf,
Vienna, Moscow, and other cities in Europe.
Both British
Airways
(BA) and KLM
have scheduled flights. Bus #20 takes 30 minutes into Salzburg's
main railway station from the airport and costs €1.80 (children
€0.90) The airport is 3km west of the town center.
From Vienna, there are several options.
A non-stop train takes a bit more than three hours. For details,
go to the Austrian federal railway's site: OBB's
web site. Salzburg is only 90 minutes by train from Munich.
There are long-haul buses from the UK to Zurich
or Munich: 18
hours in a Eurolines
coach. It is however the cheapest way to get within shooting distance.
From there you will need to take a train or bus.
There are several private bus lines within Austria:
IVB
Columbus:
01/53411-0
Post und Bahn: 01/50180-0
Dr Richard:
01/33100-0
By car, the city is at the intersection of the A1 and A10 routes.
From the north, use the A1 Autobahn. If you are driving from the
south, take A10.
Getting Around
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Salzburg in Winter
© Salzburg Tourismus |
Most of Salzburg's sites can easily be accessed on foot and the
Altstadt is mostly pedestrianized. The local bus network radiates
out from Südtirolerplatz in front of the main station. There
are 24-hour tickets and weekly passes (Netzkarte) available.
The Salzburg Card (24, 48 or 72 hours) available from tourist
offices allows for free public transport and free admission to most
of the town's sights.
There are BusTaxis operating at night - 11.30pm-1.30am (3am
at weekends) - on fixed routes to the suburbs. Departure from Hanuschplatz
on the left bank or Theatergasse on the right bank.
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Featured Hotels
Altstadthotel
Kasererbrau - Originally a brewery, it was reborn in the early
90s as a luxury hotel. Dates from the 1300s.
Hotels
in Austria - Accommodation Online - hotels throughout Austria
Hotels
in Austria - Bookings - hotels throughout Austria
Hotels
in Salzburg - Hotel.de - hotels in Salzburg
Hostels
in Austria - Hostelworld.com - cheap accommodation throughout
Austria
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in Austria - HotelsAustria - hotels in all locations
Hotels
in Austria - Precision Reservations - hotels in all locations
Eating
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Football Team
FC
Red Bull Salzburg was founded in 1933 as SV Austria Salzburg.
In 1978 the team became SV Casino Salzburg and in 1997 SV Wüstenrot
Salzburg. FC Red Bull Salzburg plays its home matches at the Stadion
Wals-Siezenheim, which has a capacity of 18,686, which will
be expanded to 30,000 for Euro 2008. FC Red Bull Salzburg recruited
Italian Giovanni Trapattoni and German Lothar Matthaus as their
new coaching team in 2006. The club has signed a number of German
internationals nearing the end of their careers as well as two Japanese
J-League
stars Alessandro dos Santos and Tsuneyasu Miyamoto.
Supporters
wishing to keep the traditions of the original club reformed SV
Austria Salzburg, which was reborn in 2006 and entered the seventh
tier of Austrian football. The club was taken over by the energy
drink Red Bull and its billionaire owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, in
2005. The takeover lead to a bitter split in the club's support
as Mateschitz rebranded the club in Red Bull colors of red and white
doing away with the team's traditional violet and white shirts and
claimed the club had "no history". Mateschitz has also
purchased MLS' Metrostars rebranding them as Red Bull New York.
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