Salzburg

Leaving Hallstatt for the north at the end of our summerholidays in 2024, we were looking for another place to swim. The weatherforecast for the late afternoon however: fresh thunderstorms. We passed the Wolfgangsee at Sankt Gilgen and tried to stop at the Fuschlsee. Both looked inviting, but I wasn't sure where to leave the van when we ended up at a private ground of a luxury hotel. Then we decided to move on to Salzburg, quite spontaneously, though I did prepare where to park and what to visit here, because Kurt Hielscher published some nice photos opening his 1928 photoalbum of Austria. Salzburg, the city of baroque and ofcourse Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Here a start, but I will add more later.

In the Schwarzstraße, just around the corner of Schloss Mirabell, we could park. We just walked in and immediately I was overwhelmed by its gardens and its views: the fountains, statues, flowers and two castles; there was beauty everywhere. Here Kim and our youngest enjoying the view on the garden, the Festung Hohensalzburg in the distance and Schloss Mirabell on the left.

The palace dates back to 1606, when the most famous bishop of Salzburg, Wolf Dietrich, had it built for his mistress Salome Alt and their 15 children. Initially, the schloss was named after Salomes surname: Schloss Altenau, but later changed into Mirabell by another bishop. We enjoyed the colors and the sun till it started to rain and a thunderstorm popped up and also left within a few minutes. We managed to hide under a tree.

Schloss Mirabell, its gardens and the nearby Andräkirche.

In 1854, the Schloss was handed over to the city of Salzburg by Emperor Franz Joseph 1 and elevated to Residenz. Today it is the seat of the mayor and a number of municipal departments and ofcourse, a UNESCO World Heritage. In 1818 there was a major city fire in Salzburg, which caused serious damage to the Schloss Mirabell. The park has been restored to the original Baroque style, for which Salzburg is famous and therefore still looks as it did in the 17th and 18th centuries, but the Schloss was rebuilt in neoclassicist style.

And when finally it started to rain, there was even a rainbow and we could hide in the Schloss itself and enjoy its stunning stairwell and rephotograph another photo from Kurt Hielscher.

The making of...

The Altstad is situated at the opposite site of the Salzach. We went over the Marko-Feingold-Steg, the pedestrian bridge.

In the Altstad

Residenzplatz

This photo is made from the entranceportal of the Residenz, but on the photo is the Neue Residenz at the opposite site of the Residentzplatz with the Residenzbrunnen in the middle. The Residenz is first mentioned about 1120 and the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg resided here for centuries. Today it houses an art gallery that goes by the name of Residenzgallerie while the Neue Residenz houses the Salzburg Museum.

Anyway, I like the dog and compliment myself on my timing.

Goldene Kugel at the Kapitelplatz with the impressive Festung Hohensalzburg.

The facade of the Dom zu Salzburg at the Domplatz.

A really huge grandstand was placed here at the Domplatz facing the impressive facade of the Dom. At the time I thought it would probably be for classical music performances since Salzburg is the hometown of Mozart, but now I know that it was for the play Jedermann. The current Dom dates back to 1611 but the previous one to 774 AD, but that one was burnt down in 1598. 

After dinner we passed the Domplatz again but then it was still raining after the heavy thunderstorms in the late afternoon. The photo on the right is made before that and shows how hard it was to rephotograph Kurt Hielscher's photo.

And this one from Stiftskirche St. Peter as seen from the Bierjodlgasse was made during another sudden he a thunderstor. My family was already on a covered terrace nearby when I took my chance to go find this place. I even found a small roof to keep the camera dry in between a few shots I made before getting back to dinner with my family.

More to come!!!

Below: View on the city center of Salzburg from the Marko-Feingold-Steg, the pedestrian bridge over the Salzach.