AUSTRIA - Best of Europe 2014 - page 136

In the left transept, stairs lead down into the crypt (Krypta), where you can see founda-
tions of the earlier church, more tombs, and a tourist-free chapel (reserved for prayer) direc-
tly under the dome.
Other Cathedral Sights: The Cathedral Excavations Museum (Domgrabungsmu-
seum, outside the church on Residenzplatz and down the stairs) offers a chance to see the
foundations of the medieval church, some Roman engineering, and a few Roman mosaics
from Roman street level. It has the charm of an old basement garage; unless you've nev-
er seen anything Roman, I'd skip it (€2.50, July-Aug daily 9:00-17:00, closed Sept-June,
www.salzburgmuseum.at ).
The Cathedral Museum (Dom Museum) has a rich collection of church art (entry at
portico, €6, mid-May-Oct and Dec Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00, Sun 11:00-18:00, closed Nov and
Jan-mid-May, tel. [phone]), www.kirchen.net/dommuseum .
• From the cathedral, exit left and walk toward the fortress into the next square.
Kapitelplatz
Head past the underground public WCs (€0.50) to the giant chessboard. It's just under the
golden orb topped by a man gazing up at the castle, trying to decide whether to walk up or
shell out €11 for the funicular. Every year since 2002, a foundation has commissioned a dif-
ferent artist to create a new work of public art somewhere in the city; this is the piece from
2007.
Detour across the square to the fountain. This was a horse bath, the 18th-century equi-
valent of a car wash. Notice the puzzle above it—the artist wove the date of the structure
into a phrase. It says, “Leopold the Prince Built Me,” using the letters LLDVIC-MXVXI,
which total 1732 (add it up...it works)—the year it was built. Return to the chessboard and
face away from the cathedral. Look for the arrow pointing to the Stieglkeller; here a small
road leads uphill to the fortress (and fortress funicular). To the right is a gate with a sign that
reads zum Peterskeller . Walk through this gate, which leads to a waterwheel and St. Peter's
Cemetery.
It's fair to say that Salzburgis glorious in great part because of its clever use of its water.
The waterwheel is part of a canal system that has brought water into Salzburg from Ber-
chtesgaden, 15 miles away, since the 13th century. Climb up the steps to watch the inflow
and imagine the thrill felt by medieval engineers harnessing this raw power. The stream was
divided into smaller canals and channeled through town to provide fire protection, to flush
out the streets (Thursday morning was flood-the-streets day), and to power factories. As late
as the 19th century there were still more than 100 watermill-powered firms in Salzburg. Be-
cause of its water-powered hygiene (relatively good for the standards of the time), Salzburg
neversufferedfromaplague—it'sprobablytheonlyAustriantownyou'llseewithnoplague