Europe - Salzburg

Today's Garmin Step Mileage: 17 km

For many, including us, Salzburg represents the quintessential Austria; offering ornate architecture, mountain air and the musical heritage of Mozart. The city and surrounding area were ruled for centuries by independent prince-archbishops. It was this wealthy society that helped to build all the building and businesses in the cities, styled with fine Baroque Altstadt. Salzburg city centre (Altstadt) is compact and straddles the River Salzach, squeezed between 2 mountains ranges.

Today we headed out to check out some of the city sites, including the Hohensalzburg Fortress. The fortress sits high above the city and is one of Salzburg's key landmarks. For $12 Euros you can ride up the ancient funicular to the top and tour the Fortress (the funicular is the oldest in all of Austria). The construction of the fortress began in 1070 and gradually became the local court for the prestigious. You can tour all the grounds and original buildings within the fortress, including some of the ancient and impressive state rooms (still in the process of being restored). I think that one of the best parts of the tour is the spectacular view over the city of Salzburg.

From the fortress you can head down the south side and start the walk down back to town. If you veer off the the right you can walk along the ridge top to the Abbey (Nonnberg Priory) where Freuline

Maria (The Sound of Music) was training to become a nun. We have booked a tour for tomorrow so we didn't want to see many of the movie filming areas today. So.. a quick look around and then onward to our next exploration.

We headed down the backside of the fortress in search of one of the other movie locations from The Sound of Music. In the far distance we could see the Schloss Leopoldskron. In 1736, Salzburg prince-archbishop Leopold Anton Freiherr von Firmian built Schloss Leopoldskron as the family residence. Standing right next to the beautiful Leopoldskron Pond, it captivates with panoramic views of the surrounding mountain world. Because of his special ties to the palace, the prince-archbishop had his heart interred in the chapel of Schloss Leopoldskron.

Since 1965, Schloss Leopoldskron has been well known far beyond

Austria’s borders as an original shooting location for the world-famous movie “The Sound of Music”. Nowadays, it is a stopping point on many guided tours of the city, enchanting visitors with its rich history as well as its magical location. It should be noted that admission to the palace, the park grounds and its historic landmarks is restricted solely to invited guests and customers of the house. (it is now a Historical 5 Star Hotel).

Even though the property was now being operated as a private hotel, we managed to sneak a peek of the grounds just long enough to capture a couple of beautiful photos. We were in and out before anyone even noticed.

We headed back into town (once we knew what direction to head) to check out more of the city sites. For centuries, Salzburg was an immensely important center of ecclesiastical power. The prince-archbishop was the leader of both church and state, a man who possessed money, power, and influence in Rome. This status was one of the reasons for the UNESCO to award Salzburg the prestigious title “World Heritage Site”. As we trace the exciting history and stories associated with Salzburg, we get to know it from its most imposing and magnificent perspective.

Everywhere you turn there are lavish buildings constructed by

archbishops of the time, resulting in Salzburg called the Rome of the north. Salzburg's historic centre (Altstadt) is internationally renowned for its baroque architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centres and has 27 churches north of the Alps. At any given hour of the day you can hear church bells ringing in the distance.

Not only is Salzburg known for being the home of the Sound of Music, but it is also the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. One certain house in the Getreidegasse area of town always draws particular attention: No. 9, the house in which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born. Salzburg’s most famous son came into this world on 27 January 1756. His family actually lived here for 26 years, from 1747 on, occupying an apartment on the third floor. With parents Leopold and Anna Maria as well as sister “Nannerl”, Mozart spend his childhood and much of his youth there. In 1773, the family moved to the house we know today as the “Mozart Residence”, standing on Makartplatz Square.

A few fun facts about Mozart:
1. Mozart was officially a knight (of the Golden Spur)
The Pope dubbed Wolfgang a “Knight of the Golden Spur”. However, instead of finding a baroness befitting his “station”, the young Mozart married for love and his noble status was merely filed away as a

fun-fact.

2. A puzzling question about Mozart’s appearance: What color were his eyes really?
In many painting Mozart is painted to have blue eyes due to the fact that 18th century artists liked to paint people with blue eyes, deemed more beautiful back then. But in reality, Mozart had dark brown eyes. And sadly, the bottom line is: Mozart would never have been described as a handsome man.

3. Mozart lived to the age of 35 – and he spent 10 of those years on the road “Travel shapes you.” – That’s something that Leopold Mozart said for good reason.
Even as a small child, Mozart was a well-traveled European, making it all the way to London. Bear in mind, the main form of transportation in those days was a horse-drawn carriage – uncomfortable and slow. Very slow. In fact, a journey to Vienna might well take the better part of a week. All in all, Mozart took 17 major trips, costing him 3720 days of his life. That equates to 10 years, 2 months and 2 days.

What a fun filled day! Tomorrow we attend one of our awaited tours! Stay tuned and check out tomorrow's blog to find out what adventures we find.