Be Casual in Austria in 2015 - Part 2

Be Casual in Austria in 2015

Part 2 

3 - Salzburg

Salzburg is a city about 300 km west of Vienna or about 2 and a half hours by fast train. Population about 145,000. It is an old city, accorded a municipal status in 45 AD by the Roman administration. 

The Altstald (Old Town)

The Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is famous for its Baroque architecture and a well preserved city centre. The town as viewed from the Hohensalzburg Castle, the building on the right with green domes is the Cathedral. 

The great composer Mozart (1756-1791) was born and raised in Salzburg. Mozart and his image is well marketed in Salzburg. Many businesses are named after him, some nothing to do with music. Here Mozart invites you to dine. There is a small square named after him: Mozart Plaza.  

The pedestrian-only Linzer Gasse is the main tourist street. Here many beautiful things come down from the sky above.

Hohensalzburg Castle

The Hohensalzburg Castle, founded in 1077, is a huge castle 250 m long and 150 m wide. Construction continued until the 17th century. It is about 80 m above the Old Town and “reachable” by walking or taking a funicular tram. We tried both.

In the one-hall small museum, the interesting and major exhibits are a group of “invisible” soldiers.

"Sound of Music" Tour

Salzburg was made famous by the 1965 hit musical movie “The Sound of Music” which won 5 Oscars. Salzburg provided the backdrop for most of the location filming. A “Sound of Music” tour has become mandatory for a visitor to Salzburg. We joined one, of course. 

First a stop outside the Leopoldskron Palace, parts of the terrace were filmed as belonging to the residence of the Captain. Then the Nonnberg Convent on the hill where Maria lived as a novice, viewed from the foot of the hill. Next the Hellbrunn Palace and the gazebo where some singing scenes were filmed.

Next the Lake District which was featured in the opening scenes of the movie, with a young Japanese tourist dressed for the occasion.  Then the Mondsee Abbey in Mondsee Village where Maria and the Captain was married, with a very elaborately decorated interior. The tour ends at the Mirabell Gardens which will be featured separately.

Mirabell Garden
the Mirabell Palace is a palace in the old town construction started in 1606 and completed in 1727. The garden is called the Mirabell Garden where Maria and the children had some wonderful time singing “Do Re Mi” together.

There are many sculptures in the garden. The 4 main groups are based on mythological-themed characters. Shown 2 of them. But the more “lovable” are the oldies in the Dwarf Garden. 

Museums

The Salzburg Museum, founded in 1834, emphases on the artistic and cultural heritage of the city. It is located in Mozart Plaza. Quite a number of famous musical instruments, meaning owned by famous musicians.

Many of us are fascinated by the puppet performance in the movie “Sound of Music”. These stringed puppets are called marionettes. There is a niche marionettes museum in the Hohensalzburg Castle, called The World of Marionettes to showcase these puppets. 

Salzburg Cathedral or Dom

The cathedral was founded in 774 with the current edition completed in 1628. It is famous for its Baroque architecture, and served as example to many churches in southern Germany and Austria. The compound in front is dominated by the Maria Immaculata column erected in 1771, 2nd photo. The façade is adorned with statues of the 4 Evangelists and other apostles and several Popes. Shown here St Paul with a sword.

The interior is well decorated, though not too ornate. Shown the main nave and the beautiful ceiling, one of the altars and a Station of the Cross.

Other churches

There are many churches in the city. We casually “visited” half a dozen of them. Two are featured here. 

The Franciscan Church is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The central nave, in late-Romanesque style, was consecrated in 1221. Shown the ribbed ceiling and the High Altar. The huge statue of the Madonna, in Late Gothic style, was added in 1495-1498.

The Collegiate Church is a big church built around 1694 to 1707 to serve the Benedictine university. A celebrated Baroque church in Austria. The High Altar has 7 red marble columns topped by angels.

Untersberg

We also went to Untersberg, a mountain resort some 15 km south of the city centre and reachable by cable car. The mountain is part of the Northern Alps and the highest peak is 1,973 m above sea level while the cable car's upper terminal is at 1,776 m. The mountain scenes also appear in the ending part of “The Sound of Music”.

Look at the photo below, don’t you wish you are there, enjoying some serene moments and quality time? 

Final impression

The famous dessert in Austria is a type of chocolate cake called Sacher Torte “invented” in Vienna by the chef Franz Sacher in 1832. Had to try. Yes, the pork knuckles are good too, and cheap. The last photo is a foreign tourist we met on the way to the resort at Untersberg. She travelled alone with her baby, intending to travel for months.

Tour Promoter

The promoter is Yongo Travel (www.yongo.biz) led by Rachel. However in Austria we went around practically on our own. For example we were the only two in the party of 17 to make the day trip to Melk. 

(First written in the email format in January 2016. Heavily revised to this PDF format in July 2021)