Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a Latin inscription reading, “I am the door to life, and only through me can you find eternal
life.” Enter the nave and notice how the once purely Romanesque vaulting has since been
iced with a sugary Rococo finish. Salzburg's only Rococo interior feels Bavarian (because it
is—the fancy stucco work was done by Bavarian artists). Up the right side aisle is the tomb
of St. Rupert, with a painting showing Salzburg in 1750 (one bridge, salt ships sailing the
river, and angels hoisting barrels of salt to heaven as St. Rupert prays for his city). Salt was
Salzburg's white gold, granting the city enough wealth to maintain its independence as a
prince-archbishopric for an entire millennium (798-1803). On pillars farther up the aisle are
faded bits of 13th-century Romanesque frescoes. Similar frescoes hide under Rococo white-
wash throughout the church.
Cost and Hours:
Free, daily April-Oct 8:00-21:00, Nov-March 8:00-19:00,
www.stift-
• Leaving the church, notice on the left the
Stiftskeller St. Peter
restaurant—known for its
MozartDinnerConcert.Charlemagneatehereintheyear803,allowinglocalstoclaimthat
it'stheoldestrestaurantinEurope.Oppositewhereyouenteredthesquare(lookthroughthe
arch),you'llseeSt.Rupertholdinghisstaffandwavingyouintothenextsquare.Oncethere,
you're surrounded by early 20th-century Bauhaus-style dorms for student monks. Notice the
modern crucifix (1926) painted on the far wall. Here's a good place to see the two locally
quarried stones (marble and conglomerate) so prevalent in all the town's buildings.
Walk through the archway under the crucifix into...
Toscaninihof
This small courtyard is wedged behind the 1925
Festival Hall.
The hall's three theaters seat
5,000 (see a photo of the main theater ahead on the wall, at the base of the stairs). This is
where, in
The Sound of Music,
Captain von Trapp nervously waits before walking onstage
to sing “Edelweiss,” just before he escapes with his family. On the left is an entrance to the
city's 1,500-space, inside-the-mountain parking lot; ahead, behind the
Felsenkeller
sign, is a
tunnel (generally closed) leading to the actual concert hall; and to the right is the backstage
of a smaller hall where carpenters are often building stage sets (door open on hot days). The
stairway leads a few flights up to a picnic perch with a fine view, and then up to the top of
the cliff and the recommended Gasthaus Stadtalm café and hostel.
Walk downhill through the archway onto
Max-Reinhardt-Platz.
Pause here to survey
the line of Salzburg Festival concert halls to your left. As the festival was started in the aus-
tere 1920s, the city remodeled existing buildings (e.g., the prince archbishop's stables and
riding school) for venues.
• Continue straight—passing the big church on your left, along with popular wurst stands
and a public WC—into...
