Salzburg – Salt Fortress

Salzburg literally means `Salt Fortress’, is the fourth largest city in Austria and is also the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. It is a little pleasant town which is one of the European cities that has been left with rich culture and traditions.

 It is most famous as the hometown of Mozart as well as other musical geniuses like Von Trapps and many others and has the ability to transport one back in time and a perfect place for folks who care about culture and history.

 Its Old Town has internationally renowned baroque architecture and is one of the most preserved city centres, north of the Alps. Salzburg has also been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 and has been host to three universities as well as a large gathering of students. Besides this, it is also noted for its rich attractive setting together with a scenic Alpine backdrop.

Birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus

Salzburg has also been the birthplace of the 18th century composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and in the mid-20th century, the city became the setting for parts of the famous and popular musical play and film, The Sound of Music.

This city has managed to preserve an extraordinarily rich urban fabric which had developed over a period of time from the Middle Ages to the 19th century when it was a city state ruled by a prince-archbishop. Many craftsmen and artist were attracted by its flamboyant Gothic art, before the city became popular through the work of the Italian architects Vincenzo Scamozzi and Santini Solari, to whom the Salzburg centre owes its Baroque appearance.

 It was at the meeting point of northern and southern Europe that probably sparked the genius of Salzburg’s most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and whose name has been associated with the city.

Ecclesiastical City-State

Salzburg is an excellent example of an ecclesiastical city state peculiar to the Holy Roman Empire from Prussia to Italy. With its absence as political and administrative units in the early 19th century, and adoption of alternative trajectories of developmentit has set an example of this type of political organism which has survived so completely while preserving its urban fabric and individual buildings to such a remarkable degree.

The Salzburg skyline amidst a backdrop of the mountains is characterized by its profusion of the spires and domes, which are dominated by the fortress of Hohen-Salzburg.

Hohen-Salzburg Fortress- Roman Structure

The Hohen-Salzburg fortress which is a Roman structure on a steep rock fan overlooking the city was placed in the Middle Age by a wooden fort where the first stone building dates back to the early 12th century which was enlarged with towers, bastions and outer wards towards the 15th century. Huge reconstruction with extension was done at the beginning of the 16th century which continued to the late 17th century.

It has a number of buildings of secular as well as ecclesiastical which are of very high quality right from the late Middle Ages till the 20th century. This city is rich in building from the Gothic period onwards with a combination in the creation of a townscape and urban fabric of great beauty and individuality.