With only a day and already tired from London and Prague, I decided to go on one tour only - "The Sound of Music" tour. Bob said he paid to see the movie way too many times back in the 1960s although we differ on exactly how many times that was - never enough for me! He decided to rest and then walk around the Altstadt (Old Town) while Kate, Colin and I went on the tour.
Salzburg - the name means "Salt Castle" - is located on the banks of the Salzach River at the Alps' northern boundary. Among mountains to the south are Untersberg at approximately 6,500 feet high, and also Monchsberg and Kapuzinerberg. The birthplace of Mozart, Salzburg is the home of three universities and has a current population of 150,000.
Salzburg's history is both typical and atypical - my, don't I sound equivocal! The typical part is Neolithic, Celts, Romans, Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire, Austria-Hungary, Nazis, blah, blah, blah.
Unusually, Salzburg was the scene of a different kind of religious strife. In 1731 Catholic Archbishop Count Leopold Anton von Firmian banished all Protestants who wouldn't convert and seized many children from their families to be raised as Catholics. The people were given only eight days to sell their belongings and leave. Walking besides their packed wagons in bitterly cold weather, they were preyed upon by highwaymen. Their plight became famous, and Goethe was inspired to write his poem "Hermann and Dorothea" to commemorate the event.
King Frederick William I of Prussia invited 12,000 of them to settle in areas of East Prussia previously devastated by a plague epidemic (reminds me of the Croats coming to Burgenland to settle plague-ravished areas). Other groups went to Slovakia, Serbia, Hanover, the Netherlands, and in 1734 one small group founded the town of Ebenezer on the Savannah River in Georgia. They kept their distinct Germanic identity over the following centuries, and as such their descendants were expelled from Lithuania (formerly East Prussia) after World War II. Those refugees went to western Europe and the United States.
Of course Salzburg was part of the Anschluss when Austria was annexed to the Third Reich, a significant part of "The Sound of Music." During World War II Salzburg was the site of several POW camps for prisoners from the Soviet Union and other countries. The KZ Salzburg-Maxglan slave-labor concentration camp for Roma (gypsies) was also located there.
Allied bombing destroyed 7,600 houses and killed 550 residents, but much of the town's Baroque architecture was undamaged. After the war the town was the center of the American-occupied area in Austria and the site of numerous DP (displaced persons)Camps.
This is Hohensalzburg Castle.
The "High Salzburg Fortress" is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe, encompassing over 150,000 square feet. Construction began in 1077 and gradually expanded over the following centuries. Surprisingly (at least to me), it surrendered to Napoleon without a fight. It has also been used as a prison for Italian POWs during World War I and for Nazi activists before the Anschluss. A cable car called the Festungsbahn built in 1900 leads from the city to the castle which is today a tourist attraction and the site of festivals, concerts celebrating Mozart and other special events.
The tour was a lot of fun. In our van was the three of us, another American, two Australians and a Canadian so our delightful guide, Gustav, didn't have to give the spiel in more languages. He also played music from the movie throughout the tour.
There is considerable road construction in the city, and we couldn't get to the site of the famous abbey in the movie. But if you look behind the building, you can see the spire of Nonnberg Abbey founded in 714 and used in several scenes in the movie.
Remember the song Julie Andrews sang when going from the abbey to the Baron's mansion? This is the fountain where she flicked the water.
This is the road where she ran along and kicked up her heels.
Kate and Colin kicking up their heels
This is the house where she ran up to the front door.
This is the back of the 17th century Palace of Leopoldskron. This is where many of the movie scenes were filmed, including the lake where the boating scene took place and the terrace where they drank the pink lemonade. Interior scenes like the ballroom were also filmed here.
Here is a close-up of the gate leading from the lake to the terrace.
The palace is currently used as the site for important international conferences.
This is me across the lake from the palace, as close as we were allowed to get. Notice the coat? Yes, it was May, but it was freezing cold!
I loved this mother duck and her ducklings. Maybe I'm a frustrated nature photographer.
I'm with our tour guide, Gustav, who is quite an exuberant guide and an avid cyclist and triathlete.
This is the gazebo at the 17th century Hellbrunn Palace where Liesl and Rolf sang "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" and Maria and the Baron sang "Something Good."
Kate and Colin again dancing.
This is the bridge over the Salzach River where Maria and the children ran across in the "Do-Re-Mi" song."
This is the Church of Mondsee where Maria marries the Baron.
The main altar
A side altar
A beautiful carving on a side wall
I don't know if this was the organ playing in the wedding scene, but I suppose it could have been.
The tour then went to the Salzkammergut, the lake and mountains area outside the city. This is close to the meadow where Julie Andrews sang in the movie's opening scene. Gustav said that spots in this whole area were featured in the song, "Do-Re-Mi."
On this beautiful hillside you can see the tracks of the Sommer Rodelbahnen, the summer toboggan run.
I didn't ride on it, but Kate and Colin did and had a good time.
Two very lovely views
A beautiful mountain... Do you see the little building on top? Who could live up there?
I love the picture of these deer grazing in this oh-so-green mountain meadow.
Kate and Colin near one of the lakeside villages
This is the St. Gilgen area on Lake Wolfgang. Mozart's mother was born here, and it was also pictured in the opening sequence of the movie. Directly across the lake is Schafberg mountain, also seen in the movie.
Although Salzburg was more urban than I expected - in the movie they have really tight shots - I'm so glad I went. I watched the movie again after we got home, and it was so much fun to keep saying, "I was there!"
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