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As good a place as any to start your sightseeing in Salzburg is the castle (Festung Hohensalzburg). For one thing it's probably the most impressive site in Salzburg, but more importantly you have to climb up a sodding great hill to get to it and this is probably a thing best tackled early on in the day why you've still got the energy for it. There are actually a couple of ways of getting up to the castle. The first is to walk; from Kapitalplatz, the square to the south of the Cathedral, head up Festungsgasse and just keep going. The road zigzags up the face of the steep hill, the Monchsberg, on which the castle sits, and it can get pretty steep in places but we made it up in about 15 minutes. The advantage of going up this way are the views, which get progressively more impressive as you get higher. We stopped frequently to take advantage of them.
Cunningly they've put the kiosk where you pay to enter the castle (which is housed in one of the castle gate houses) about two thirds of the way up the hill, presumably figuring that if you've climbed up that far then you're less likely to turn back without paying. Crafty bastards! It costs EUR3.60 to get into the castle, which allows you to walk around the castle grounds and ramparts. If you want to go into the museums that the castle houses, which is well worth doing, it will you set you back a further EUR3.60. The alternative, lazier way of getting up to the castle is to take the 19th century funicular, which runs from the bottom of Festungsgasse. You have to pay a couple of euros extra for this privilege, and the funicular may not run in winter, it was certainly closed when we were there in February.
Anyway, which ever way you choose, you'll end up in the castle. It is believed that the outcrop where the castle now sits has been fortified since Roman times. Work on the castle in its current form started in the 11th century but what you see today is mostly the result of rebuilding and extension in the 15th and 16th centuries. Once you've paid to get into the castle you're free to wonder around at your leisure; the main attraction for those with no particular interest in medieval military engineering are the views, which in all directions are amazing, possibly the most impressive being that of the roofs, domes, and spires of the Old Town nearly 400 feet below. Those of you who do have an interest in medieval military engineering will not be disappointed; the castle is reckoned to be one of the best preserved of it's type in Europe.
If you've paid extra to have a look around the castle's interior you'll find the entrance opposite the rather strange plastic statue of a cow. For security reasons, and stop the castle from getting too overcrowded you can only go through the castle museums in small groups, and so you may have to wait a short while for the group in front of you to finish. All groups are accompanied by a castle guide, but instead of the guide, errr, guiding you you're given a little hand held audio guide which talks you through each room in the tour; whenever you enter a new room you press play and the guide (which comes in a variety of languages) talks you through that room. You can pause it, fast-forward it, rewind it, or do what I did and put it in my pocket and ignore it. Try doing that with a normal tour guide. The tour round the castle's interior takes in a gallery with a collections of portraits of Salzburg's Prince-Archbishops (ugly bastards to a man) and more interestingly a set of models depicting the castle at various points throughout its history. Next up comes a room housing a collection of torture implements, none of which were ever actually used in the castle, but then again if the cold draught coming up from the dungeon, about 20 feet below this room down a straight shaft, was anything to go by they wouldn't have had to. On the tour you also get to climb out on top of one of the castle's towers (probably about the highest point in Salzburg); the views are magnificent but on a winter's day it's rather exposed and bloody freezing. It's a relief to head inside to some of the state rooms; these are all richly decorated, and it's apparent that the Prince-Archbishops hardly lived the simple life as men of God. The Archbishop's toilet is particularly impressive, a little turret with a hole in the floor, hanging above a few hundred feet of nothing. You must have got a hell of draught blowing up it, and there wasn't much room for reading materials.
Once you've finished looking round inside the castle there are a couple of smaller museums, one with more models of the castle, but also showing how they built it in the first place (the castle, not the model). The other museum, open only in summer, tells the story of the small garrison that used to be stationed in the castle. There's also a gift shop, and a small cafe.
By the way, I dropped one of my gloves somewhere in Salzburg castle. It was a really good pair of gloves and obviously one glove on its own isn't much use so if anyone finds a right-hand brown Marks and Spencer thinsulate glove, I'd be most grateful if you could let me know. Cheers.
Once you've finished with the castle you can head back down to lower ground; getting down is a hell of a lot easier than getting up....
If you come back down Festungsgasse you'll find yourself in Kapitalplatz, one of the squares that surround the cathedral, or Dom (Dome) as it is known locally. Don't miss the statue set against the south wall of the cathedral (near to the strange looking over-sized chess board); I'm not sure what it's meant to be but it reminded me of one of the Nazgul from the Lord of the Rings.
The Cathedral, dedicated to Sts Rupert and Virgil dates from the early 17th century, replacing an earlier 12th century church on the same site that burned down. There's actually been a cathedral on this site since the late 8th century, founded by an Irish monk, so maybe Salzburg's collection of Irish pubs aren't as out of place as they would first seem. From the side the outside of the Cathedral doesn't look too impressive. It's built out of a local stone that has an unfortunate resemblance to breeze blocks, and there isn't much in the way of decoration, although the dome itself is impressive enough. The front (western) facade is much better though, with a pair of ornate towers, a line of statues (2 of which are Rupert and Virgil, although I've no idea which is which), and three decorated bronze doors (apparently representing faith, hope, and charity).
It's free to enter the cathedral, but you're expected to make a donation. The interior is very impressive, with a nice collection of frescoes, especially around the dome. There's plenty of marble on display, decorative pillars, and stucco ceilings. One of the cathedral's fonts dates from the 13th century and is a survivor of the old cathedral; it is also the very one used to baptize Mozart. You'll also see a couple of photos inside the cathedral that show the results of allied bomb damage during the war; basically someone managed to drop a bomb pretty much right on the centre of the dome. You have to admire their accuracy, although I suspect that they were probably aiming at something else, like the castle, or Munich. Needless to say it took rather a long time to repair the damage (the cathedral only reopened in 1959, and work was still being done into the 1990s), so sorry about that, Salzburg.
On the west side of the Cathedral is Domplatz, which houses on of Salzburg's impressive fountains. Unfortunately all of Salzburg's fountains are turned off in winter, presumably to prevent water from freezing and pipes from bursting. While some of the smaller ones are covered in see-through perspex, the larger ones, like this, are hidden away in a wooden tent, making it impossible to see anything but the very top of the fountain.
North of the Cathedral is Residenzplatz, which holds another fountain that I'm told is very impressive when it's not covered in wood. The building on the west side of Residenzplatz (the one connected to the Cathedral by the row of arches) is the Residenz, the former Palace of Salzburg's Archbishops (presumably for when they couldn't be bothered dragging their arses up to their other palace in the castle). The present building dates from the 16th century but was significantly rebuilt in the 18th century, and now houses 2 museums, the first being the Residence itself, where you can look round the Archbishops' richly decorated state rooms, and the second being the Residenz Gallery, where you can have look at the Archbishops' art collection.
You can buy a combined ticket for both (which cost EUR7.30) or pay for each individually. We turned up an hour before the museums closed (5pm) and had intended to take in a bit of culture (and hopefully some paintings of naked ladies) by taking in the art gallery but we somehow managed to end up in the wrong museum, and so had to settle for the Residenz instead. Actually we weren't too disappointed as it's a very impressive building. As in the castle museum rather than a guided tour you're given your own little audio guide, and it's a simple matter of following the arrows round the palace and pressing the play button (each room has a number that you press on your audio guide). I think we would have been even more impressed had we managed to actually follow the arrows instead of going the wrong way round as we did, meaning we managed to miss out on half the rooms (by the time we got back to the beginning they'd been closed). Still from what we did see it's apparent that what the archbishops (or their interior designers) lacked in taste they made up for in money; nearly every ceiling has frescoes and crystal chandeliers, there's a nice collection of antique furniture, and tapestries and crimson velvet are the favoured wall coverings.
The Residenz Gallery apparently has an impressive collection of Flemish Old Masters (none of that new-fangled modern art in here), including a Rembrandt.
On the opposite side of Residenzplatz is the Residenz New Wing. Apparently not content with the original Residenz and with their rooms in the castle the archbishops decided that they needed even more space and built this. Maybe they had the in-laws coming round... The Residenz New Wing today houses Salzburg's local government and so is mostly off limits to members of the public, but from the outside you can admire the glockenspiel, housed at the top of the tower, which on the hour plays Mozart tunes.
Also on Residenzplatz is the attractive pink Church of St Michael (St Michaelskirche), which dates from the last half of the 18th century. It's somewhat hemmed-in by the Glockenspiel cafe in front of it.
At its northeastern corner Residenzplatz merges into the much smaller Mozartplatz. This boasts a tourist office, a couple of well stocked tat-shops (at least they were well-stocked until the Scotsman hit them and cleared out their supply of Mozart Chocolates). In the middle of the square is a somewhat weathered 19th century statue of Mozart himself.
From here you're in a position to set out on a grand tour of the churches of Salzburg's Old Town. If you head east along Pfeifergasse you'll come to the Kajetanerkirche (Church of the Cajetans). Work on this started at the end of the 17th century, but work was still being done over 30 years later. From the exterior - bright yellow walls and a dome-topped tower - you might guess that there's lots of ornate decoration inside, and you'd be right.
Head back towards the cathedral down Kaigasse and Kapitelgasse and you'll find yourself in Kapitelplatz. From here if you head back up towards Festungsgasse but when you reach the funicular up to the castle turn right and you should find yourself in the graveyard of St Peter's Church, part of St Peter's Abbey (St Peter Bezirk). The graveyard is a lovely, peaceful spot (until it's invaded by Japanese tour groups), sheltered below the steep cliffs of the Monchsberg. Some of the more elaborate memorials are in the arcades around the sides of the graveyards, but many of the graves are wrought iron crosses, some plain and simple, some decorative. There's a small chapel within the graveyard, separate from the main church. More interesting are the catacombs that were carved into the cliff face by Salzburg's early Christian community, reputedly in Roman times, which will set you back less than a euro to look around.
Once you've finished looking around the graveyards have a look at the church itself. The original church on this site was built in the 8th century but burnt down in the 12th. The current building in part dates from the 12th century, but was subject to constant renovation and rebuilding over the next few hundred years, meaning that the building you see today is a mix of about 5 centuries of different architectural styles. It all fits together rather nicely though; the front of the church, for example, has a 12th century Romanesque doorway, a baroque tower and a renaissance cupola, while round the back end of the church there's a small dome. Inside St Peter's is the most richly decorated of the churches in the Old Town; the walls and roof are covered in frescoes and paintings, and gold leaf and marble is everywhere. Like the outside of the building it should be a chaotic muddle, but somehow it works, and the results are dazzling..
From the square in front of St Peter's Church, the Stiftshof, head through the archway and down the alley to your left (as you're facing the church; if you have a map just head north, away from the Monchsberg); this alley will bring you out facing the side of the next church on your list, the Franciscan Church (Franziskankirk); this is a bit of a strange one, as it looks like two entirely different churches that have been joined together, which as with St Peter's is the result of several centuries of extensions and rebuilding. Unlike St Peter's the joins here really do show. The front (western) facade is renaissance although the building behind it is 13th century romanesque, the middle bit, with it's tall slender towers, is more baroque, while the eastern bit is 15th century gothic. The roof at the eastern end appears to be at least twice as high as at the rest of the church. The effect is even more noticeable inside the church; you get about half way down it and suddenly the ceiling almost disappears as it is carried well over 100 feet above your head by slender pillars. There's not much decoration inside the church, aside from its alter, and it has a wonderful gloomy, almost sinister atmosphere. You wouldn't be surprised if the organ started playing spooky music and Count Dracula came floating towards you as soon as the door creaked shut behind you..... Or maybe we'd just drunk more than we thought. Anyway, it's probably not that bad when they turn the lights on.
From the front of Franciscan Church head down Sigmund Haffner Gasse and then go through the alleyway on the left and you'll find yourself in Universitats platz. This is the site of a food market but once you've managed to tear yourself away from the smell of sizzling sausages you can have a look at the most significant building on the square, the Kollegienkirche (Collegiate Church). Dating from the end of the 17th century this has possibly the most attractive exterior of any of the churches in Salzburg's Old Town, graceful symmetrical baroque, with a central dome framed by two matching towers, all in tasteful white stone and green copper. The inside isn't as decorative but is still attractive, in a restrained way. The highlights are probably the side altars, which have lots of colourful marble and paintings, and the sculptures around the window above the main altar.
As the name might suggest Universitats platz also holds some of the buildings of Salzburg University (basically the University occupies the whole block to the south of Universitats platz, so it backs onto the square). The University was founded in 1622, building started in 1631 (I don't know what they'd been doing in the meantime), it was closed in 1810 and then finally reopened again in 1964. It only has four faculties, Theology, Jurisprudence, Philosophy and Natural Science (each of which has its own side chapel devoted to its patron saint in the Kollegienkirche), so I'm not sure where "students" of media studies, golf course management and all those other demanding courses that you take at UK Universities have their lessons.
If you take the street at the southeast corner of Universitats platz, Wiener Philharmoniker Gasse, this will take you to another small square, Max Reinhardt platz. At 9 Wiener Philharmoniker Gasse on the east side of the square you'll find the Rupertinium. This early 17th century building now houses a collection of modern art, which my two friends who went round it thought was crap, but then they're both old men who probably regard van Gough as modern so may be they didn't understand it.
From here head northwest up Hofstallgasse; on your right are more buildings of the University, on your left are the Festival Halls. The Small Festival Hall (Kleines Festspielhaus) is a 17th century stable that was converted into a riding school that was then converted into a concert hall. The Large Festival Hall (Großes Festspielhaus) dates from the 1950s and was built when the Small Festival Hall became too, well, small. At the end of Hofstallgasse is yet another square, Herbert von Karajan platz but on your left before you come to this you can see the entrance to the Sigmundtor (Sigmund Gate) a tunnel cut under the Monchsberg in the 18th century which now carries a busy road. The main feature of Herbert von Karajan platz is the Pferdeschwemme (horse trough). It's name doesn't really do it justice, it's an elaborate fountain built at the end of the 17th century, complete with a horsey statue and surrounded by horsey paintings, originally built so that the archbishop's horses (who were housed in the stables that now house the Small Festival Hall) had somewhere to drink.
Just northwest of Herbert von Karajan platz is St Blasius' Church (Blasiuskirche) also known as the Hospital Church (Burgerspital Kirche) as it used to serve the civic hospital. The church dates from the first half of the 14th century; the outside is a bit austere compared with some of Salzburg's other churches and inside the vaulted hall is a bit gloomy but it certainly feels very old. There are some nice stained glass windows too.
St Blasius Church sits at the western end of Getreidegasse. This narrow little street is probably the main road of the Old Town. It's amazingly picturesque; all the shops and restaurants on it have ornate wrought iron signs hanging out into the street (even McDonalds). There's no tacky neon or plastic here. There are lots of narrow little alleys and passageways leading off Getreidegasse, many of which lead to courtyards holding shops or restaurants.
It is on Getreidegasse that you'll find Mozart's birthplace (Mozarts Geburtshaus) at number 9. It's the bright orange building that usually has lots of tour groups hanging around outside it so you can't really miss it. Mozart was born here on 27th January 1756, and the second and third floors of this apartment have now been turned into a museum, while the first floor houses a cafe and gift shop. Unless you already have some knowledge or appreciation of Mozart you might find the museum to be a little disappointing. There is some interesting stuff here though, including the very miniature violin that Mozart played as a child, as well as some more general displays on life (including travel, dress., and personal hygiene) in 18th century Europe. After sharing a room with my simian-featured companion for 3 nights I had an all-too-clear personal insight into the shortcomings of 18th century personal hygiene... Helpfully everything on display is explained in German and English
Keep going east down Getreidegasse until you reach Rathaus platz. Just to the east of this small square is Salzburg's old Rathaus (Town Hall) which dates from the 17th century. Go up north through Rathaus platz and the archway at the top of it and you'll find youself on the Salzach by Staatsbrucke bridge and out of the Old Town.
Although the northern side of the Salzach isn't as packed with history as the Old Town, there's still plenty to see. Head over the Staarsbrucke bridge and you'll find yourself in a small square called Platzl, to the left of the Hotel Stein.
From Platzl you could head east down Steingasse. There's not much of specific interest down here but it's a narrow, atmospheric little street nestled along the base of the Kapuzinerberg and it's well worth a wander down. Steingasse does have one curious museum; the Stille Nacht Museum, at number 9, which is the house where the chap who wrote the words to the Christmas Carol, "Silent Night" was born (his name was Joseph Mohr, if you're interested). I've no idea what's inside, but it was closed while we were there.
Also from Steingasse you climb part of the way up the Kapuzinerberg; just head up the first set of steps you come to one your left (the path is called Stefan Zweig, and the Kapuzinerberg is signposted. The Stille Nacht Museum is the first house after the stairs). There aren't that many steps but they're surprisingly steep and so if you're as fat and unfit as we were you might like to take the chance to have a look at the small Church of St John on the Imberg (St Johann am Imberg), which seems to have been built into the hill. The church dates from the 17th century. and there are some nice frescoes inside and best of all somewhere to sit and appreciate them and get your breath back. Once you've managed that keep on going up the steps and you'll reach the Hettwer Bastion which offers stunning views of the city. You can climb even further up Kapuzinerburg to reach the Capucin Monastery that gives the hill its name. Now I like nuns as much as the next man but not even their allure could tempt me any further up that hill.
Also from Platzl you could go west along Dreifaltigkeitsgasse (the first street on the left as you come from the river) which leads to Makartplatz. At the head of Makartplatz stands the Dreifaltigkeitskirche (Church of the Holy Trinity), a beautiful domed baroque building that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Kolligienkirche in the Old Town; hardly surprising as they were both built by the same architect. The Holy Trinity Church though is much more richly decorated inside than the Collegiate Church; the entire inside of the dome is covered with an amazing fresco, and most of the rest of the walls are painted too.
Further on down Makartplatz is its most important building, the Mozart Residence (Mozart-Wohnhaus) at number 8, the former family home of the Mozart's after they'd moved out of the less-spacious apartment on Getreidegasse. The house itself was badly damaged during the war and was only fully restored in the 1990s. You're guided round this one with one of those hand-held audio guides that's supposed to start playing automatically whenever you get near enough to one of the exhibits, although mine was a little temperamental. The exhibits here are probably more interesting that the Mozart Birth-house across the river. As well as musical instruments (including Mozart's piano) there are things that give you greater insights in Mozart's character, including a quite obscene target that he designed himself (he was a great fan of air-rifle target shooting apparently). The story of Mozart's family is also more fleshed out here. We got a combined ticket that got us in to both Mozart museums for EUR 8, but if you only have the time or inclination for one, this is probably the one to go for.
From the top end of Makartplatz you can carry on going northwest, initially on Dreifaltigkeitsgasse, which merges into Rainerstrasse, and eventually leads to the railway station. There are one or two things to see before you reach the station though. After a few minutes on Rainerstrasse you'll come to Mirabelplatz. On your left is the Schloss Mirabell, a Renaissance palace built in 1606 by one of the Prince-Archbishops for his mistress. You can take solace in the fact that although the randy old Bishop gave in to temptations of the flesh he wasn't hypocritical enough to practice contraception as well as the mistress in question is reckoned to have conceived at least 10 children by him. The Palace itself houses municipal offices and so is mostly off-limits to tourists, although you can have a look at the hallway and staircase. The extensive and formally laid-out gardens are open to visitors, and parts of the Sound of Music were filmed here. I've no idea which parts as I haven't seen the bloody film.
On the opposite side of Mirabelplatz is the twin-towered Church of St Andra (St Andra Kirche). The exterior of this huge twin-towered church is a bit nondescript, and the inside is a little plain too, but this makes the effect of light shining through the stained glass windows around the altar all the more intruiging.
Finally, if you head back to Platzl you can head northeast up Linzer Gasse, which runs along the north base of the Kapuzinerberg. This is a little like Getreidegasse in the Old Town in that it is lined with attractive buildings, and wrought iron shop and hotel signs are very much in evidence here, but it lacks a little of the atmosphere and intimacy of Getreidegasse. On Linzer Gasse you'll find the Church of St Sebastian (St Sebastianskirche). The Church itself dates from the 18th century and impressive enough; the decorative doorway and huge amounts of marble inside are probably the highlights. The cemetery round the back was part of the earlier church on the same site and contains among others the graves of Mozart's father, Leopold, and his widow, Constanze. You'll also find the recently restored mausoleum of Wolf Dietrich here. Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1587 to 1612. He managed to get into a war with the state of Bavaria over salt, lost, resigned, and spent the last few years of his life as a prisoner (albeit a well pampered prisoner) in Hohensalzburg Castle. He's also the archbishop who managed to have 10 children by one of his mistresses, which may offer a clue as to why he died at the age of 57; the poor bloke was knackered.
Basics - Getting
There - Getting
Around - Where To
Stay
Where To Get Drunk - Things To See
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