Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Festung Hohensalzburg
FORT
(
www.salzburg-burgen.at
;
Mönchsberg 34; adult/child/family €7.80/4.40/17.70, incl Festungsbahn funicular €11/6.30/
25.50; 9am-7pm)
Salzburg's most visible icon is this mighty 900-year-old clifftop fort-
ress, one of the biggest and best preserved in Europe. It's easy to spend half a day up
here, roaming the ramparts for far-reaching views over the city's spires, the Salzach
River and the mountains. The fortress is a steep 15-minute jaunt from the centre or a
The fortress began life as a humble bailey, built in 1077 by Gebhard von Helffenstein
at a time when the Holy Roman Empire was at loggerheads with the papacy. The present
structure, however, owes its grandeur to spendthrift Leonard von Keutschach, prince-
archbishop of Salzburg from 1495 to 1519 and the city's last feudal ruler. Highlights of a
visit include the
Golden Hall
, where lavish banquets were once held, with a gold-studded
ceiling imitating a starry night sky. Your ticket also gets you into the
Marionette Museum
,
where skeleton-in-a-box Archbishop Wolf Dietrich steals the (puppet) show, as well as
the
Fortress Museum
, which showcases a 1612 model of Salzburg, medieval instruments, ar-
mour and some pretty gruesome torture devices.
The Golden Hall is the backdrop for year-round
Festungskonzerte
(Fortress Concerts),
which often focus on Mozart's works. See
www.mozartfestival.at
for times and prices.
Salzburg Museum
MUSEUM
(
www.salzburgmuseum.at
;
Mozartplatz 1; adult/child €7/3; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun, to 8pm Thu)
Housed in the
baroque Neue Residenz palace, this flagship museum takes you on a fascinating romp
through Salzburg's past. A visit starts beneath the courtyard in the strikingly illuminated
Kunsthalle
, presenting rotating exhibitions of art, such as one spotlighting Hohe Tauern
landscape paintings. On the 1st floor,
Ars Sacra
zooms in on medieval art treasures, from
altarpieces and embroidery to monstrances, chalices, Latin manuscripts and a
Romanesque crucifix.
Upstairs, prince-archbishops glower down from the walls at
Mythos Salzburg
, which cel-
ebrates the city as a source of artistic and poetic inspiration. Showstoppers include Carl
Spitzweg's renowned
Sonntagsspaziergang
(Sunday Stroll; 1841) painting, the portrait-
lined prince-archbishop's room and the Ständesaal (Sovereign Chamber), an opulent vis-
ion of polychrome stucco curling around frescoes depicting the History of Rome accord-