A Tasty Suggestion
St. Peter Keller (+43 (0) 662 848 481 in the day, +43 (0) 662 841 268 in the evening and on weekends), which claims to be the oldest operating restaurant in Europe, is located in the grounds of the stunning St. Peter’s Abbey and is one of Salzburg’s top-flight places to eat. Producing traditional food with a modern twist, the food is exquisitely prepared and the service is immaculate. When dining in this exclusive restaurant, it is impossible to ignore the history that surrounds you which dates back to 803 and in 2003 the restaurant celebrated it 1200th anniversary! With main courses as elaborate as saddle of wild boar in a red cabbage envelope with semolina gnocchi and cranberry juice you will have the chance to try unique combinations and dishes. The restaurant is class and sophistication personified with the balance between brilliant food, atmosphere and service. Leaving a lasting impression on all who dine there the restaurant is an experience you will not want to miss when visiting the city. www.haslauer.at
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UNTIL AUGUST 31: The Salzburg Summer Festival is five weeks of classical music and concerts in the backdrop of this amazing city. Held at a variety of venues more information can be found at www.salzburgfestival.at/
…and here are some more great things to see and do in and around Salzburg…
SEPTEMBER 2008: The celebration of the city’s patron saint, Rupurt, Rupertikirday is held all over the city. Music and theatre performances take over the city as visitors get involved with the locals. For more information go to www.salzburg-altstadt.at/
SEPTEMBER 2008: The Rupertikirday is a celebration of the city’s patron saint, Rupert. The city centre and square are alive with craft stalls as city dwellers come out and celebrate
their home. To find out more visit www.salzburg-altstadt.at
OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2008: The annual Jazz Herbst festival lets jazz lovers see both old and new talent grace its stages throughout the city. With so many types of Jazz music to listen to there will be something for everyone to enjoy. Go to www.viennaentertainment.com/ to find out more.
DAILY: The Original Sound of Music Tour. Visit most of the key places featured when Julie Andrews played one of her best-loved roles. The Original Sound of Music Tour follows in her footsteps and you can visit the von Trapp family house, the Mirabell gardens and the church in which Maria and the Baron were married. The tour takes around four hours with transportation to and from the main hotels in Salzburg.
www.panoramatours.com
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The UEFA Euro 2008 Football tournament
For the month of June next year the world’s third biggest sports event is coming to Salzburg! Salzburg is the host city for the tournament and the whole city will be going football crazy. Although it is too late to apply for tickets the games will be played on giant screens placed around the city and all the visitors in Salzburg from around the world will have football fever. It is a great way to meet people and relax when the games aren’t being played, with the bars and pubs bound to be busy during the summer sun.
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Salzburg welcomes more than 7.0 million visitors each year, no mean achievement for a city whose population has yet to hit 150,000. In 2006, however, that visitor figure to went through the roof – all courtesy of one disgruntled and occasional resident who has been dead for more than 200 years.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born here, at Getreidegasse 9, in 1756; the 250th anniversary of his birth, gave Salzburgers the opportunity to make the most of the occasion, with a full year of festivities. Ironically, Mozart didn’t much like the place. By the time his extraordinary musical abilities were becoming recognised, Salzburg’s glory days were almost over. His father touted his prodigy around other, more prosperous European courts; when the 16-year-old Wolfgang finally returned to the patronage of the city’s archbishop, he found the place stifling and stultifying.
The archbishop didn’t much like Mozart’s music, and Mozart didn’t much like the archbishop, but in those days every ecclesiastical dignitary worth his salt simply had to have a resident master of music on the payroll.
And it’s that word “salt” that is the key. In the days when meat and fish needed to be preserved for consumption during the long harsh winters, salt was in great demand – worth more, pound for pound, even than gold. Salzburg (“Salz” is German for “salt”) and its surrounding towns and villages have huge deposits.
The city’s fortunes were hardly impaired by its location. Founded by the Romans as Juvavum, it straddles the river Saltach. The archbishop who controlled Salzburg not only controlled the salt deposits, but also one of the main trading routes of the time.
The fabulous wealth was put to good use, building a carefully planned city, packed with richly decorated churches and palaces and protected by an impressive fortress, where tradesmen and merchants flourished and, over time, added to the city’s splendours.
On January 1, 1997, UNESCO recognised Salzburg’s quality hallmarks, and added the carefully-preserved Aldstadt (old city) to its list of World Heritage Sites. That accolade represented a milestone on Salzburg’s road to success as one of the most beautiful – and popular – destinations in Europe.
And it’s great to visit whatever the season. Spring and summer bring brilliant colour to the city’s parks and surrounding hills, while its Christmas markets transform it into a magical scene resembling something straight out of a Grimm’s fairytale.
Come for the galleries, museums, classical concerts or the wonderful Hohensalzsburg castle, but just be aware you’ll need at least two or three days to even scratch the surface of one of Europe’s greatest cities.
There’s never any shortage of things to eat in Salzburg, so skip breakfast and opt instead for a thick, rich coffee at Tomaselli’s, in the Alter Markt, reputed to be Mozart’s favourite coffee-house. It’s also a favourite with tourists, so get in early and pick up a copy of the local Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper – if they think you’re a local, they’ll assume there’s a language barrier and leave you alone!
Having resisted the vast selection of pastries (but probably not a second cup of coffee), stroll south across Residenzplatz to the vast cathedral. The cavernous interior is rather spare at first glance, but the ceiling frescoes are a real treat. Then on to the Peterskirche, just yards away, to revel in the OTT rococo splendours adorning the nave, and then get goose-bumps on a tour of the catacombs.
Take the Festungsbahn funicular railway up the Hohensalzburg fortress (open daily from 09.00), pausing a few moments to get a feel for the scale of the place, and then book yourself an English-language guided tour, which includes two small but fascinating museums – closed to unescorted visitors – of uniforms, armour, weaponry and other military paraphernalia.
Lunch beckons, so retrace your steps through the Alter Markt to the Getreidegasse, the Altstadt’s main thoroughfare. Pick any of the many restaurants offering fixed-price lunch menus - €10 will get you by, €15 will get you fat – and try the veal. After lunch, a spot of retail therapy is always welcome, and the Altstadt is the perfect place to indulge those shopping cravings.
Mozart’s birthplace is at Getreidegasse 9, and it just has to be done, but then head across the Staatsbrücke to the right bank of the Salzach and the Mozart-Wohnhaus, where the composer lived for 14 years from 1773, which provides a much better insight into life with a prodigy.
The nearby Schloss Mirabell is – its glorious pink marble staircase aside – rather unprepossessing, but time your visit right and the gardens are superb. The formal gardens are horticulture on a grand scale, embellished with outsized statuary, but the more intimate Kurgarten is a fragrant forest of roses, while the Zwerglgarten (“the garden of the dwarves”) contains statues of a necessarily smaller and more grotesque variety. Gnome, sweet gnome!
For an evening with a difference, board the Amadeus Salzburg for a dinner cruise along the Salzach (itineraries vary, so go to www.salzburgschifffahrt.at). Regular cruises last about an hour and cost around €12, but more leisurely evening sailings can include a candlelit dinner and a classical music concert. No prizes for guessing the name of the composer.
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Salzburg’s popularity means that accommodation arrangements simply cannot be left to chance. Although most of the city’s visitors are day-trippers from other parts of Austria and from Germany – the border is just two kilometres away – there are always too many visitors chasing too few rooms.
Hotels are of a very high standard indeed and although many international chains are represented here, it’s well worth checking out some of the smaller, independent properties with real Austrian character.
However, that high level of demand means that prices can be steep, particularly during the Salzburg Festival. Be sure to book ahead!
Five-star options include the Bristol, Sheraton and Radisson SAS Altstadt. The Golden Hirsch is in the heart of the city and the Bayrischer Hof is a three-star superior hotel. A full range of accommodation is available on +44 (0) 871 900 8297 or by visiting www.flybehotels.com
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By car: Explore the city and the countryside in comfort and style at great prices! Get the best deal by checking Flybe's partner Avis for the best available car hire rates at www.flybe.com/avis
By road: Salzburg Airport W. E. Mozart is a four kilometres from the city centre. From the airport, take the Innsbrucker Bundesstrasse (B1) and enter the city via the Neutor (“New Gate”).
Flybe partner Avis’ car rental desk is to be found on the ground floor of the airport’s multi-storey car park.
By bus/coach: Salzburg Airport doesn’t have a rail station but Austrian Railways operates the bus service between the terminal building and the city centre main station. The No.2 bus runs every 15 minutes (every half-hour on Sundays and public holidays) and the journey time is around 20 minutes. Tickets, purchased from the bus driver, cost €1.80 each way.
By taxi: A cab-ride to the city centre from the airport – the rank is directly outside the terminal building – should take no more than 15-20 minutes. Expect to pay around €12.
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Schloss Hellbrunn: One of Salzburg’s – and Europe’s – most spectacular sights is five kilometres out of the city centre. The archiepiscopal summer palace of Schloss Hellbrunn, its zoo, its museum and its gardens are well worth the short bus-ride.
Built in the early 17th century as a summer retreat for Archbishop Marcus Sitticus, the Italianate palace itself is a testament to the cultural wealth of the age. The star attraction, however, is the Wasserspiele – an ingenious water garden where hidden fountains burst unexpectedly to life, drenching the unwary.
In the nicest possible way, the area around Salzburg has its ups and downs – and they don’t get much further “down” than the salt mines on which the city built its reputation and its riches.
The Salzburg/Bad Duerrnberg Salt Mines: A short way beyond the old city gates, are now open to the public. Guests are required to don the miners’ traditional white overalls before boarding a precarious-looking miniature railway for a guided tour of the mine workings.
Hohenwerfen Adventure Fortress: For a more elevated experience, clamber up to the Hohenwerfen Adventure Fortress. Perched atop a 155-metre outcrop, the fortress towers over the Salzach valley, and is now – among other things – the official Salzburg Falconry Centre, featuring daily flying displays by a huge array of birds of prey.
Oberndorf: Back at ground level, you can’t visit the original Church of St Nikolaus in the village of Oberndorf any more – the entire village was relocated after devastating flooding in the 1930s – but the church’s claim to fame lives on.
Silent-Night-Memorial Chapel: On its site sits the tiny Silent-Night-Memorial Chapel, because it was in St Nikolaus’ that the world’s best-loved carol was first sung, on Christmas Eve 1818. And at 5pm on December 24th every year, thousands and thousands of visitors congregate outside the chapel to sing it again – in any one of 300 different languages!
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Hiking: The Untersberg Mountain is a short distance from Salzburg and is the biggest mountain in the area. The mountain itself serves as a natural border between Austria and Germany and boasts incredible views in both directions. From the Geirereck peak at the top of the mountain you can see stunning views of Salzburg and the neighbouring towns and villages. In addition to this there are fantastic views of the other mountain ranges and if you look on the other side towards Germany you can spot the ‘Eagle’s Nest’, Hitler’s holiday retreat. Not only is there hiking but there is also skiing in the winter, paragliding, rock climbing and caves to explore. There is a cable car if there are people in your party who’d rather not hike!
www.untersberg.net
Sailing: The lakes in the area around Salzburg are the result of the glaciers that used to run from the Alps into Bavaria and upper Austria. The beautifully clear waters make the perfect surface for sailing. There are many sailing schools and specialist shops in and around Salzburg. In the sailing schools beginner’s courses can be taken with a qualification being achieved by the end of just one week. Mondsee, part of the Salzkammergut Lake District, is a particularly picturesque, crescent-shaped lake. The water from the lake is of drinking quality! With over 50 boats to rent, Mondsee Sailing School is the best one to try. In the town, the church that was used in the wedding scene from The Sound of Music can be found. The lake is also very good for cycling, golf courses and regular boat tours.
www.segelschule-mondsee.at
The Werfen Ice Caves: South on the motorway from Salzburg is the small mountain town of Werfen. Famous for its incredible Hohenwerfen Fortress the town has another treasure, hidden in the mountain. The Eiriesenwelt (“World of Ice Giants” in German) caves are the largest on the planet. They are more than a mile above sea level and spread to a distance of around 42 kilometres. Inside the caves are ice columns, towers and ice waterfalls. There is no electric lighting in the cave and visitors use old carbide lamps. Tour operators use magnesium ribbon to illuminate the ice as you walk around the cave. Even in mid summer temperatures stay at zero degrees and parts of the tour can get quite tight. It is strongly advised to dress warmly and wear sturdy shoes. Arrive early to avoid queuing.
www.eisriesenwelt.at
Beer gardens/ brewery: The Müllner Bräu or Augustiner Bräu beer garden is the largest in Austria and can facilitate a massive 2000 people. The perfect place to be on a warm summer’s day the outside area, covered by chestnut trees, is a lively and popular place to be. The most famous brewery in town is the ‘Stiegl Brauerei’. Visitors can get a tour around the brewery and learn how the beer is made. The brewery has its own exhibition and pleasant beer garden from which you can watch the streets in the Old Town. www.augustinerbier.at
Winter Sports: Salzburg is an ideal gateway to some of the best ski destinations in Austria – and the world.
For those looking to combine city sightseeing with some downhill drama, the Snow Shuttle bus service provides the perfect answer. Having collected passengers from selected hotels at 0800hrs, the bus then leaves the city-centre Mirabell Square at 0830hrs and heads for the piste.
The choice of the final destination depends on the snow conditions on the day, so you could end up in Flachau, Gastein, Kitzbuehel, Obertauern, Saalbad, Schladming, Zauchensee or Zell-am-See – which is why the journey time is advertised as anywhere between an hour and 1hr 40mins.
Multilingual guides are on hand to help with lift passes, equipment rental, ski school and any other problems. The Snow Shuttle, which operates seven-days-a-week throughout the season, then leaves the resort at 1600 and heads back to Salzburg – all for less than €15!
Alternatively, the Airport Express operates a twice-daily service on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays between Salzburg Airport and Zell-am-See. Journey time is 80 minutes.
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Salzburg’s tourist attractions fall conveniently into two clear categories – the must-see mega-stars that every first-timer needs to tick off, and the galaxy of smaller, unexpected treats for those on their second or third visits.
The city’s big three are the:
Schloss Hellbrunn (see Around the city, below, but guided tours in English and German, open April and October 09.00-16.30, May, June and September 09.00-17.00, July and August 09.00-22.00, entry about €6)
Hohensalzburg fortress, (open daily 09.00-21.00, May-September, October-April 09.00-17.00) the brooding medieval citadel accessed by a funicular railway, (cost around €5 one-way, €6.50 return)
The Altstadt (old town) – which itself includes the home where Mozart was born and lived up to the age of 17, the imposing Domkirche (cathedral, open daily) and a host of other archiepiscopal edifices, and street after narrow street of medieval buildings housing stylish shops, boutiques, bars and restaurants. The Dommuseum, on the right of the cathedral, is open mid-May to late-October, Monday-Saturday 10.00-17.00, Sunday 13.00-18.00, entry about €5.
Those with more time on their hands, or making a return visit, will find plenty more to explore. The Peterskirche’s rather uninspiring exterior is crammed with a riot of rococo excess, and the opulent state-rooms and gallery at the Residenz are testament to the power and wealth wielded by the early archbishops. Across the river, the Schloss Mirabell is worth a visit for the marble staircase alone – the gardens are fantastic, too – while Mozart’s Gewohnhaus, (open daily July and August 09.00-19.00, September-June 09.00-17.30, entry about €6) the composer’s home from 1773 to 1787, has an excellent museum.
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With most of Salzburg suffering from year-round Mozart madness it’s often hard to track down any other kind of music.
And for those who prefer funk to Figaro, the problem is exacerbated by Salzburg’s highly-conservative planning regulations. Often housed in historic buildings, nightclubs aren’t allowed to proclaim their existence with gaudy neon and flashing lights.
Despite outward appearances, however, there are plenty of them, principally on Rudolfskai, Giselakai and Fran Josef Kai along the banks of the Salzach river (“Kai” is German for “quay”). Casual clubbers should look out for knots of youngsters clamouring for admission through otherwise-anonymous doors, while those who prefer a more structured approach should consult www.salzburg-night.at or www.salzburg-cityguide.at for up-to-the-minute listings of what’s on when and where. Irish folk to hard rock is on offer at Rudolfskai, on the left bank of the Salzach. Live music also booms out at the Rockhouse, Schallmooser Haupstrassse.
For marginally less-frenetic evenings, visitors should check out the innumerable watering-holes of the old town – Steingasse, in particular, is crammed with convivial pubs and bars.
Casino Salzburg has moved around since it first opened its doors back in 1934, but it now seems to have found permanent home in the Schloss Klessheim, on the outskirts of the city.
www.casinos.at
Even if you’re not into gambling, it is worth a visit – architecturally, Klessheim is a riot of baroque over-indulgence, combining the excesses of Versailles with the Palladian influences of northern Italy.
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Salzburg and its surrounding area depends almost exclusively on the tourism industry – skiing in the winter and activity holidays and city breaks during the summer months when the ski slopes are turned over to pasture. As the provincial capital of the Salzburgerland, Salzburg itself has become something of a financial centre, and has a small but growing high-tech sector.
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The recent Channel four programme ‘A Place in the Sun’ estimated that in the space of 10 years, a property that cost £100,000 could grow by 211% to £311, 000. This places Austria ahead of France, Spain and Italy in terms of property investment. Add to this the relevant information such as crime, inflation and economy Austria ranks very highly as a place to invest in the future.
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One of Salzburg’s – and Europe’s – most spectacular sights is five kilometres out of the city centre. The archiepiscopal summer palace of Schloss Hellbrunn, its zoo, its museum and its gardens are well worth the short bus-ride.
Built in the early 17th century as a summer retreat for Archbishop Marcus Sitticus, the Italianate palace itself is a testament to the cultural wealth of the age. The star attraction, however, is the Wasserspiele – an ingenious water garden where hidden fountains burst unexpectedly to life, drenching the unwary.
In the nicest possible way, the area around Salzburg has its ups and downs – and they don’t get much further “down” than the salt mines on which the city built its reputation and its riches.
The Salzburg/Bad Duerrnberg Salt Mines, a short way beyond the old city gates, are now open to the public. Guests are required to don the miners’ traditional white overalls before boarding a precarious-looking miniature railway for a guided tour of the mine workings.
For a more elevated experience, clamber up to the Hohenwerfen Adventure Fortress. Perched atop a 155-metre outcrop, the fortress towers over the Salzach valley, and is now – among other things – the official Salzburg Falconry Centre, featuring daily flying displays by a huge array of birds of prey.
Back at ground level, you can’t visit the original Church of St Nikolaus in the village of Oberndorf any more – the entire village was relocated after devastating flooding in the 1930s – but the church’s claim to fame lives on.
On its site sits the tiny Silent-Night-Memorial Chapel, because it was in St Nikolaus’ that the world’s best-loved carol was first sung, on Christmas Eve 1818. And at 5pm on December 24th every year, thousands and thousands of visitors congregate outside the chapel to sing it again – in any one of 300 different languages!
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The Oscar-winning 1965 movie of The Sound of Music is one of the film industry’s enduring success stories, not least because it purports to be based on real events in the run-up to the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. Hollywood has never believed in letting the truth interfere with a ripping yarn, however, and has taken not inconsiderable liberties with the Maria von Trapp memoir, published in 1949.
For a start, Maria (Julie Andrews) and Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) were married in 1927, rather undermining the “whirlwind romance” of the film; the family only took to singing after losing everything in the Depression years; and by the time of the 1938 Anschluss, they were already internationally renowned, and were actually invited to perform at Hitler’s birthday celebrations that year.
Maria, however, was heavily pregnant and didn’t feel up to performing. To escape the Führer’s displeasure – and, more pertinently, to allow Captain von Trapp to avoid being drafted into the German army – they took the train to Italy, from where they sailed to the USA.
For the scriptwriting spin, the blockbuster film – and the songs – remains immensely popular, so one can hardly blame the Salzburg authorities for making the most of the opportunity.
After all, they haven’t done too badly out of Mozart, and he was thoroughly miserable here!
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Photos ©Osterreich Werbung / Niederstrasser A / ANTO |
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