November 4, 2006 Salzburg, Austria
FACT: In about 700 AD Bavaria gave Salzburg to Bishop Rupert, with the promise that he would bring Christianity to the land.
This was a whirlwind trip. It was kind of like driving from Kelowna to Vancouver and back in one day. We drove our Jaguar there, which got us to this beautiful city very quickly. I printed directions off of Map Quest, which helped us to navigate through the winding streets of Salzburg. We found a great parking spot close to downtown, but almost had our car locked up inside of the parkade for the night (only a half hour to spare).
We went straight to the Tourist Information office with help from a little nun who spoke some English. She was so sweet smiling up at me trying to have a conversation in her broken English and my pitiful German. We emerged into a large square with a statue of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the middle. It was truly breathtaking and we would learn later that this is called the Residenz Platz.
Prince Archbishop Wolf Deitrich (ruled from 1587-1612) created Residenz Platz, which was like an ancient Roman forum. He hired architects from South of the border, therefore giving Salzburg a Baroque feel. Since prince Deitrich was raised in Rome, he had created the “Rome of the North” with a new cathedral after a fire destroyed the original one. There was an impressive black stallion or “Triton” sculpture/fountain in the center of the Residenz square that mimicked Bernini’s Triton fountain in Rome. Unfortunately, he abused his power and ended up in the fortress prison for the last five years of his life. This was due to his quarrel with Bavaria over salt revenues.
Salzburg remained an independent state until Napoleon came around 1800. Thanks to it’s formidable fortress it avoided the devastation of war for 1,200 years until World War 2. Most of the city was then destroyed except the old town.
All of us bought a “Salzburg Card” for 70$ Euro (total) that got us into museums, galleries, Mozart’s houses, the fortress, and public transportation for free. The first thing we did was go to Mozart’s house in the old town. It was the one he was born in on Jan. 27, 1756 called Mozart Geburtshaus. In this house Mozart composed most of his boyhood works. It holds his first violin (played at age 5); the clavichord (like a piano) on which he composed “The Magic Flute” and the “Requiem”; some of his musical scores; and portraits of him and his family. When we go back to Salzburg we have to visit his other house on the opposite side of the river called Mozart Wohnhaus, where he lived from 1773-1780.
Then we took a cable railway called a funicular, that was built in 1892, as a means to reach the castle high above the city. It went up on a 75-degree angle. The medieval fortress is called Hohensalzburg Fortress and it was built in the 11th century. It is central Europe’s largest preserved fortress. There were cannons that lined the inner hallways pointing outwards to help defend the city against the Turks. The fortress museum held a fascinating history of the fortress. In the museum there were some unique weapons, some torture devices, and an 11th century kitchen. There was a film with ariel views of the castle shown in an arched white room with low ceilings.
There was also a Marionette museum inside the fortress with exhibits from various countries. It also held famous marionettes used in the Salzburg marionette theatre.
Once back in the town we peeked into St. Peter’s cemetery but didn’t wander through.
Inside the Cathedral Museum we went to a Mozart exhibit. It showed original sheet music that he had composed as a child. There was music from when he was 5, 9, and 15 years old. The headset that we wore explained it in English and also played his music for us. There were paintings of him during his life and also one of him on his deathbed with his wife draped over him in great sorrow. He was paid to perform in the Cathedral and therefore wrote a lot of spiritual music for the church services. When he lived in Vienna he wrote his last and most famous spiritual work called “Requiem. He was the court musician for the Archbishop in his youth and he played for him at his residence. Mozart felt stifled by him and eventually left that post to write operas.
There was also a fascinating Middle Ages collection of Salzburg’s Archdiocese at the Cathedral museum. It displayed treasures, art, and his rare collection of natural items, minerals, stuffed (real) animals, etc. Again we were able to walk through with a headset that explained it in English. It was a great relief to hear our language and understand the history.
We went to the “Miracle’s Wax Museum” that also gave you an English headset. The wax figures were very realistic looking. There were 77 of them, some of which had animatronics. The theme was set in Salzburg in the year 1791. You followed a storyline that first showed you what a marketplace would look like in that era. There was an apotheke, a dentist, a candle maker, and a bakery with figures inside. The dentist was usually a fraud who traveled from town to town pulling teeth and using no anesthetic whatsoever. There were displays of 18th century fashion and it showed what a sit down dinner was like during that time. Entertainment at the dinner usually came from one of the children playing a piano or violin. The last display showed all of the characters from the musical "The Sound of Music".
There was a street in Salzburg that was so amazing. It was the same street that Mozart’s house was on. There is no way a car could fit down that narrow cobblestone street. You could lie down and touch both sides with you fingertips and toes. There were colorful iron signs that hung above the door of each shop. You literally stepped back in time.
Once again we have to return as a family, because we didn’t see everything we wanted to see. Darcy has to see “Stiegl-Brauwelt - The World of Beer” and of course I want to see Mozart’s other house. This was a richly rewarding trip that was educational for the whole family.
Author: Lisa Allen