For Salzburg most people reason of Mozart or The Sound of Music, but this small Austrian city suggestions much more. Spanning the Salzach River, it is endangered by hills pleasinglyoutfitted in beech trees. Car-free paved streets lead to medieval stone houses and Italianate marble palaces, wood-panelled inns and chic art galleries. And, in some way, even with the daily ebb and run of visitors, locals recall their self-respect and sense of humor. The salt trade gave Salzburg its name and prosperity, but the splendor comes politeness of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau. Homeward bound from Rome in 1587, the active cleric set out to create a Baroque city north of the Alps as splendid as Rome. He custom-built Italian designers to design a grand cathedral, five squares and, for his mistress (who bore him 15 children), the Mirabell Palace. Though not all his determinations were fulfilled, the consequences are still inspiring. Elongatedbeforehand the hard-working archbishop reached, though, the Hohensalzburg fortification was built high on a bluff. For centuries, it deterred attackers; today’s attackers arrive via funicular, keen to see the grislytools of torture, play with marionettes and savour the ramparts’ striking panoramic sights. Salzburg’s place in the renown was surefire when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born there in 1756. Evade the crowds at his birthplace and in its place, head across the river to Mozart’s Residence on Makartplatz. On the verge of the city, there is the Hellbrunn Palace. Several come for the Renaissance gardens, others for the schoolboy humour providing by hidden spouts in the water garden. The Sound of Music fans photograph the gazebo where Liesl saw Franz, and, throughoutArrival, everybodylikes one of Austria’s loveliest Christmas markets. Travel the Altstadt: Salzburg’s old town was malformed by the Venetian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi from a feudalmishmash into a Baroque masterwork. The cathedral is its heart, encircled by three bustling, large squares (Domplatz, Kapitelplatz and Residenzplatz), arches, attractive fountains and outstanding buildings. From November 18 until December 26, the Domplatz – in front of the cathedral – becomes the site of one of Europe’s premium Christmas markets. Head for the hills: For spectacularsights of Salzburg and the nearby countryside, proceeds a hike to the top of the Monchsberg, the unmissable bluff from where the Hohensalzburg Fortpreserves watch over the city. For less active types, there’s a lift (€2.90 return). Instead, make for the Kapuzinerberg, a 2,000-foot hill on the eastern bank of the SalzachRiver, and home to a Capuchin monastery. Do (Re Me) the Mirabell Gardens: North of the Salzach lies the Schloss Mirabell and its end-to-end gardens, a must for any “Sound of Music” lovers. Some scenes in the movie were shot here, counting the song “Do Re Mi”, which sorts the gardens’ central fountain. Tour the city’s churches: The mainstreams of Salzburg’s churches are free to enter, counting the blue-domed cathedral, Franziskanerkirch, one of the city’s primogenital, and the Baroque Kollegienkirche, with its exclusive convex façade. If all this piousness is too much to handle, do some window-shopping on the pedestrianized Getreidgasse, home-based to the city’s swankiest boutiques. Source: Medley News
