Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fortress Interior:
Here you get to see a few rooms in the outer fortifications. Only 40
people are allowed in at a time, usually with an escort who gives a 30-minute comment-
ary. While the interior furnishings are mostly gone—taken by Napoleon—the rooms them-
selves survived fairly well (no one wanted to live here after 1500, so the building was never
modernized). Your tour includes a room dedicated to the art of “enhanced interrogation” (to
use American military jargon)—filled with tools of that gruesome trade. The highlight is the
commandingcityviewfromthetopofatower.Insummer,therecanbealongwaittogetin.
•Continueuphilltosight#2—thefortress's“palace”(labeled
InneresSchloß).
Immediately
inside, visit the...
MarionetteExhibit:
Twofunroomsshowoffthislocaltradition.Threevideosplaycon-
tinuously: two with peeks at Salzburg's ever-enchanting Marionette Theater performances
of Mozart classics (described under “Music in Salzburg,” later) and one with a behind-the-
scenes look at the action. Give the hands-on marionette a whirl.
• Head down the hall and up the stairs following
Festungsmuseum
signs to the...
Fortress Museum (Festungsmuseum):
The lower floor of this spacious museum has
exhibits on the history of the fortress, from music to torture. One room explains how they
got all this stuff up here, while another has copies of the pencil sketches for the Salzburg
Panorama (described earlier). On the top floor are three pretty ceremonial rooms, including
the one where the evening concerts are held. (Check out the colorfully painted tile stove in
the far room.) The rest of the top floor is given over to the Rainer Regiments Museum, ded-
icated to the Salzburg soldiers who fought mountain-to-mountain on the Italian front during
World War I.
• Exit the museum and continue on out into the...
Fortress Courtyard:
The courtyard was the main square for the medieval fortress's
1,000-some residents, who could be self-sufficient when necessary. The square was ringed
by the shops of craftsmen, blacksmiths, bakers, and so on. The well dipped into a rain-fed
cistern. As you enter, look to your left to see the well-described remains of a recently ex-
cavated Romanesque chapel. The current church is dedicated to St. George, the protector of
horses (logical for an army church) and decorated by fine red marble reliefs (c. 1502). Be-
hind the church is the top of the old lift (still in use) that helped supply the fortress. Under
the archway next to it are the steps that lead back into the city, or to the paths across the
Mönchsberg.
• Near the chapel, turn left into the Kuenburg Bastion (once a garden) for fine city views.
Kuenburg Bastion:
Notice how the fortress has three parts: the original section inside
the courtyard, the vast whitewashed walls (built when the fortress was a residence), and the
lower, beefed-up fortifications (added for extra defense against the expected Ottoman in-
vasion). Survey Salzburg from here and think about fortifying an important city by using
