Germany Vacation- Salzburg

The morning of our last day of the 'Prague, Vienna, and Budapest' bus tour was spent in the historic center of Salzburg. With the Alps for a backdrop, the city with its myriad of spires, domes and a clifftop fortress was quite a view to behold.

Hohensalzburg Fortress

 Those factors aside, this city is important because this is where the Italian and German cultures met; the city's Baroque appearance is due to the Italian architects Vincenzo Scamozzi and Santino Solari.  The city's narrow and winding streets have retained buildings from the Middle Ages, Romanesque, Baroque, and the Renaissance periods.For these reasons along with their contribution to the Arts, especially thru Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, has earned Salzburg its place as a UNESCO site.

Simone leads us to our early afternoon's rendezvous spot,which is the Mozart's statue in Mozartplatz. We are then left to split up and explore on our own.

Mozartdenkmal (statue) was by Ludwig Schwanthaler in 1842. The Bavarian King Ludwig I contributed money for the making of the statue and also donated the marble pedestal.

The decor on the four sides of the pedestal:

We take a look around for landmarks to help guide us back,

St. Michael's Church, a rococo facade with a Baroque onion dome.

and then we are on our way! We decided that we wanted to walk up the 'hill' instead of riding on the funicular. As we find our way to the walkway that leads up to the fortress we pass by a few items that caught my eye.

A very ornate weather station.

A tardis?

A  colorful souvenir stall caught Geoffrey's attention :-)

It's still too early on a Sunday morning and most of the vendors are just starting to open up in the Kapitelplatz (Chapter square).

We find the stairway that will lead us to the path up to the fortress.

As we walk our way up the cliff side, through the openings in the trees we get wonderful views of the city. Also, evidence for the progress of our upward movement as we start to look down at the rooftops and about even with the domes and spires!!

Dom zu Salzburg (Salzburg Cathedral)

Near the top we pass thru an archway

and see a funicular that we could have used to get to the fortress.

A little bit more of a climb and we are at the pedestrian's entrance.

This entrance leads us to the inner bailey, where we hike up even higher. Up ahead we see the old lift that was used to help bring up supplies to the fortress.

From here we, we get a limited view, but I liked the fortress's little tower room on the left :-)

We enter the large outer bailey area and view the church, which is dedicated to St. George.

The church is decorated with red marble reliefs from 1502.

This picture was taken later in the day....a bit cloudier.

Also, in this area under a nice shade tree is a play area.

Which, of course, I had to check out!

fun and relevant shapes for building blocks

The ruins of a Romanesque church, with a very nice archeology display, is nearby.

Beyond the railing are displays of remnants that have been pieced together.

Against the back wall are informative displays.

If only I could read German better!!

I like the look of the ceiling with all the arches.

From the church,we wander thru a defensive tunnel-like area. While I am taking this picture...

the others obviously see a picture they want to take!

I figure, since we probably have 3 pictures of it, I don't need to take one :-)

Jim's photo

In the Prince's cellars of the fortress, was a favorite of mine; The Marionette Museum. Historic puppets from the Salzburg Marionette Theater are displayed here.

 The detail on their costumes were exceptional.

This dress is exquisite!!

 Some displays were a little 'spooky' looking.

Jim's photo

 Along with the puppets were some fun sets to observe.

Jim's photo

Jim's photo

Jim's photo

 They actually had a place where you could try your hand at puppeteering.

and now I am hooked and would like my own set of puppets :-)

By now, we have talked to some of the people in our tour group that came up on the funicular (where better info about the fortress was given) and found out that there is an audiotape tour that is included. We follow their directions to the ticket office and join a tour. Walking along the fortress wall to our first stop are windows with good views of Salzburg.

 In the first room we are greeted by a bishop.

 Since I could not hold my audio tape to my ear and take pictures.....I opted for taking pictures.

I believe we were being given the history of the fortress and how it was built to protect prince bishops and the principality. Hohensalzburg fortress was built in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard. Several alterations/additions were made throughout the years. The last and largest alteration was made by Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach from 1495-1519 and the exterior has stayed relatively the same since then.

Models of the fortress showing the changes over the years and portraits of some of the bishops who occupied the fortress.

 A brief look at the torture chamber.....

 and then the highlight of the tour; the observation tower. The views from here were unbeatable! Again, I was too busy taking pictures and enjoying the scenery, so did not listen to the info they were giving. Here is an excellent view of the city and of the Salzach River winding thru it. The river was an important transportation route for the salt that was mined from Hallein and other salt mining towns in the province.

Could almost hear Julie Andrews singing...."The hills are alive, with the sound of music." :-)

With one last look of the beautiful scenery and the fortress walls, we were told we had to leave because the next tour group was coming :-(

The last stop on the tour was to view the Salzburger Stier (mechanical organ) thru a door window and hear a sample of its music on the audiotape.

 The fortress's walls had many decorative plaques that included a lion and/or beetroot.The lion is the fortress's symbol and the beet root is commemorative of Leonard von Keutschach.There are 58 insignias and coats of arms with the beetroot here. If I had known that at the time, I would have been tempted to find them all! Maybe, next time :-)

By exploring different entryways,

 we eventually found the Rainer regiment ( I think) museum. We decided we had a little time to spend here. So while they were looking at the displays,

 I found more 'artsy' type stuff to enjoy.

The picture sets in the background were pretty neat. I would like to make some sets similar to these...different subject, tho!

 Looking around, the arched doorways really caught my interest.

 The large marble archways in this area looked like they were all made from the same type (color) of marble.

 I had to get an up close view of the doors,

 with all of their very intricate metalwork.

 Besides the archways, were large pillars that were pretty neat.

 After  a short time in the museum, we found the Golden Hall and Chamber. The pillars in this room are made of marble, pretty massive!

It would be a fun experience to attend a concert in this room, with it's cozy atmosphere and 'Starry night' look.

 Next to the Golden Hall was the Golden Chamber.

 This room was very elaborate with it's gold studded coffered ceilings and very detailed golden designed embellishments on the walls!

The door seems a little out of place here, should have gold decorative work on it to fit in :-)

 After this room we decided that we better

head back down to Salzburg. So we mosey on back thru the fortress.

 Leaving should be much easier than when we arrived.

Need to be careful going down to avoid slipping on the loose gravel!

 2nd chance photo opportunities are taken.

 Now for the decision of which store/vendor to buy souvenirs from.

Justin and Geoffrey chose this one.

 We are ready to rest our feet and have lunch.

 Of course, I can't get them both to sort of look at the same time.

After lunch we wanted to cross the Salzach River and walk along it.

 We cross over using the Mozartsteg (Mozart bridge), which was built in 1903. Until 1920, there was a toll to use it. This bridge was also used in "The Sound Of Music", when the kids and Maria were singing and running around Salzburg in their drapery made clothing.

Mozartsteg - An Art Nouveau bridge

 Now we are on the other side.

A fancy building I like the looks of.

A couple of statues that I would like in my yard :-)

Time to head back and get some last minute photos on the other side.

I just had to take this picture with its perfect framing!

Walking around this area of Altstadt Salzburg, you kind of just go from one square or 'platz' to another. Standing at the Mozartplatz you can see

 the Waagplatz just across the street. This area was a haymarket in the early 15th century and a bread market after 1430.

The large mural, "Sowings and Harvest" by Karl Reisenbichler (1928) in Waagplatz.

 Also, from standing at the Mozart statue, you can see the backside of the Residenzbrunnen (fountain) which is in Residenzplatz. This area is considered to be in the heart of the Altstadt (oldtown).

Mozart statue is by the bottom left corner of this picture.

 The Residence Fountain, sculpted by Tommaso di Garone, is considered to be the most significant Baroque monument in Europe. The base has four snorting horses and the upper basin, being supported by giants, has Triton holding a conch shell and trumpet.

I think this fountain was featured in "The Sound Of Music".

 The Glockenspiel, on the western end of the Neue Residence building, also caught my eye here. The 35 bells of the glockenspiel were all cast in Antwerp (1688/89), and have been operating since 1704.

 Go thru a set of Baroque arches and all of a sudden you are in another 'platz'--Kapitelplatz (Chapter square).

The "Sphaera" (huge gold ball with man standing on it) stands out here. This piece of art was made by Stephen Balkenhal.

 The Kapitelschwemme (Chapter Fountain) is also located here. This fountain was modeled after Roman fountains and was built in 1732. The Baroque figure of Neptune,God of the Sea, holding a trident and crown while mounted on a seahorse was sculpted by Josef Anton Pfaffingen.

Above the niche is a chronogram and Archbishop Firmian's coat of arms.

From the Residenzplatz, the "Cathedral Arches" leads to Domplatz where Dom zu Salzburg (Salzburg Cathedral) is located. Two earlier churches at this site were destroyed by fire and this one was built in 1628. This church is an impressive/important example of early Baroque North of the Alps.At the bottom of the main facade are 4 statues; the Apostles Peter and Paul with keys and a sword, and the 2 patron saints Rupert and Virgil with a saltbox and the model of the church. The 3 bronze gates were made 1957/58 and the left gate represents faith, center gate-love and the right gate-hope. The central portion of the facade has statues of 4 evangelists and over two windows are a lion and ibex, which are also present in the coat of arms of Prince Archbishops Markus Sitkus and Paris Lodron. A golden crown is over another window. The top portion of the facade has a statue of "Christus Salvator" in the center flanked by Moses with the 10 commandments and Elias. These 3 statues were made by

Tommaso di Garone (also did the Residence fountain) in 1660.

Also located in Domplatz is the Marienstatue made of marble and cast iron. The statue of the Virgin Mary is surrounded by 4 allegorical figures; Angel, Devil. Wisdom, and Church.

"The Mystery of the Immaculeate Conception was so great that it caused the Angels to be delighted, Human Wisdom to vanish, the Devil to growl in envy, and the triumphant church to rejoice."

Statue was made by brothers Wolfgang and Johann Baptist Hagenauer in 1766-1771.

Our rendezvous is in a few minutes, so I only have time to take a few pictures of inside the church from the doorway. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the court organist and concert master here.

Some more views of the exterior of the Salzburg Cathedral.

We walk back to our bus and  along the way we see...

 a few more interesting sights/scenes.

Jim's photo

Some extra pics from earlier in the day:

 We are now on the bus en route to Munich, our tours final destination.

Our hotel room in Munich with its orange space capsule bathroom :-)

We did have an exceptional farewell German dinner, but alas, I did not want to lug my camera. Hence, no pics of it :-(  I have decided that I will want to get a small camera for similar situations!