Key Dates
- c. 1000 BC — Celtic settlements centred around Hallein (10 miles south of Salzburg)
- 696 AD — St. Rupert builds the abbey church of St. Peter
- 774 — St. Virgil builds first cathedral
- 1066 — Construction of Hohensalzburg fortress
- 1587–1612 — Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, prince-archbishop
- 1612–1619 — Marcus Sitticus, prince-archbishop
- 1619–1653 — Paris Lodron, prince-archbishop
- 1694 — Fischer von Erlach employed by the archbishops
- 1756–1791 — Life of Mozart
- 1816 — Salzburg annexed to Austria
- 1860 — Demolition of ramparts; Munich–Salzburg–Vienna railway inaugurated
- 1920 — First Salzburg Festival
Overview
Salzburg sits on the river Salzach, shielded by the Mönchsberg, Rainberg and Kapuzinerberg hills. The river divides the Old Town from the New Town. With the Salzkammergut to the east and Alpine resorts nearby, the city lies in an area of great natural beauty. Its population of 140,000 makes it Austria’s fourth largest city and the capital of the province of Salzburg.
Until 1816, Salzburg was an independent territory ruled by prince-archbishops—many of whom were passionate builders. Although smaller and less musically prolific than Vienna, Salzburg holds a key place in European musical history. Hollywood later drew on this charm in The Sound of Music.
History
The Celts
From around 1000 BC, Celtic tribes settled at the foot of the Dürrnberg mountain near Hallein and mined salt as early as the 5th century BC. Their culture left tools, bronze objects and burial items. In 1573, miners uncovered the preserved body of a prehistoric miner, buried alive a thousand years earlier.
The first Christian settlements
The Romans established the town of Iuvavum (“seat of the sky god”), but left a modest presence. After their departure, a small monastic community remained. Taking advantage of the soft “pudding stone,” monks carved cells into the rock at the foot of the Mönchsberg.
Salzburg’s true rise began in 696 when Bishop Rupert founded St. Peter’s church and a convent at Nonnberg—both the oldest surviving religious houses in the German-speaking world. Salzburg became a bishopric in 739, its first cathedral was built in 774, and it became an archbishopric in 798. After siding with the Pope in conflicts, Salzburg was burned by Frederick Barbarossa’s forces in 1167. It was quickly rebuilt with a grand new cathedral whose frescoes became famous.
For two centuries, the archbishops and wealthy citizens fostered a flourishing of the arts.
Further Sources
- The Life of Mozart, John Rosselli
- Mozart, Catherine Brighton
- The Insight Compact Guide of Salzburg
- Salzburg Town Guide, Residenz Verlag
- Films: Amadeus (1984), The Sound of Music (1965)
- Web: www.salzburginfo.or.at
Salz(burg)…
Salt deposits from ancient oceans were pushed to the surface during the creation of the limestone Alps. Celtic miners exploited these deposits at Hallein in 500 BC. Salt shipped up the Salzach made Salzburg a wealthy medieval centre. By the 16th century, the city had amassed great wealth, but the “white gold” lost value over time. In 1816, salt became an Austrian state monopoly.
The Prince Archbishops
The prince-archbishops of Salzburg ruled from the 13th century to 1806 and occupied a special position in the Holy Roman Empire, even appointing bishops without papal approval. More interested in grandeur than conflict, they avoided major wars—except with Bavaria, which coveted Salzburg’s salt mines.
From the mid-16th century, Renaissance and Italian influences transformed Salzburg. Inspired by St. Peter’s in Rome, the archbishops envisioned a new cathedral at the centre of a redesigned city.
In 1587, Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau vowed to turn Salzburg into the “Rome of the North.” He demolished the medieval centre and the old cathedral, replacing them with ambitious designs by Vincenzo Scamozzi. He lived lavishly with his mistress Salomé Alt, who bore him fifteen children. His attempt to seize Bavarian salt mines led to his downfall, and he died imprisoned in Hohensalzburg fortress.
His cousin Marcus Sitticus succeeded him and commissioned the playful Hellbrunn Palace with its trick fountains. His successor Paris Lodron completed much of the rebuilding at a more modest scale. By his death, Salzburg had become a Baroque city.
…and (Salz)burg
The Hohensalzburg fortress, begun in 1066, dominates Salzburg from every direction. Expanded over centuries with wings, dungeons, towers and ramparts, it remained untested in war and is now one of Europe’s best-preserved fortresses.
The new cathedral was consecrated in 1628 with a massive 53-part choral piece, marking the beginning of Salzburg’s rich musical tradition—later home to Michael Haydn, Leopold Mozart and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Late Baroque and Rococo
The 1683 victory over the Turks unleashed a wave of church construction and artistic renewal across the Danube region. Salzburg’s many churches—35 Catholic to 2 Protestant—were built or redesigned in this period.
In 1694, Fischer von Erlach replaced the Italian architects and designed major works including the Collegiate Church, the Holy Trinity Church, elements of Mirabell Palace, and the altarpiece of the Franciscan Church.
The Loss of Independence
The tolerant climate of Wolf Dietrich’s era ended in the 18th century. In 1732, 20,000 Protestants were expelled. New mining techniques revived the economy briefly, and Mozart was born into this environment in 1756. But Mozart found Salzburg provincial and clashed with the archbishops. After a final quarrel in 1781, he left for Vienna.
Napoleonic upheavals dissolved the ecclesiastical principality in 1803. Art treasures were taken to Florence, Munich, and Vienna. Salzburg was finally annexed to Austria in 1816. The ramparts were demolished after the 1860 railway opening, allowing rapid expansion.
20th Century
Tourism boomed after World War I, and in 1920 the Salzburg Festival began with Jedermann in the Cathedral Square. The Festival Hall became one of the world’s largest opera venues. WWII bombing damaged 40% of the city but spared most historic monuments. Post-war, Salzburg fell into the American sector, reinforcing ties with the US. It regained university status in 1962 and now has around 15,000 students.
Arts — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Born in Salzburg in 1756, Mozart was baptised in the cathedral the next day. His full name was Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, Theophilus being the Greek form of Amadeus. His sister Nannerl shared his talents.
Mozart’s oeuvre—over 600 works catalogued by Köchel—includes masterpieces in opera, symphonic music, chamber music, liturgical music and concertos. He played multiple instruments and was a prodigy from childhood, composing with remarkable technical sophistication.
Despite early fame, Mozart struggled to secure a stable court appointment. He relied on patrons and commissions, performed throughout Europe, and battled financial insecurity. His marriage to Constanze Weber produced six children, of whom only two survived.
Legend surrounds the commission of the Requiem. The “mysterious messenger” was Count Walsegg, hoping to pass the work off as his own. Mozart died before finishing it; his pupil Süssmayer completed the score.
Main events in Mozart’s life
- 1762 — Performances for Bavarian and Austrian courts
- 1763–66 — Grand tour of European courts
- 1767–69 — Symphonies and comic operas composed in Vienna
- 1769–71 — Italian tours; memorises Allegri’s Miserere after one hearing
- 1771 — Death of Count Schrattenbach; Colloredo curtails travel
- 1772 — Appointed leader of Salzburg court orchestra
- 1777–79 — Paris journey; death of Mozart’s mother
- 1781 — Final break with Colloredo; moves to Vienna
- 1782 — Dedication of quartets to Haydn
- 1784 — Becomes a Freemason
- 1786 — Success of The Marriage of Figaro
- 1787 — Triumph in Prague; writes Don Giovanni
- 1788 — Composes the great final symphonies
- 1790 — Cosi fan Tutte; financial difficulties
- 1791 — The Magic Flute; commissions for Prague and the Requiem
Jedermann
Since 1920, the open-air performance of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s Jedermann has been the centrepiece of the Salzburg Festival. Staged against the Cathedral façade, the play presents Everyman confronted with mortality as his worldly allies abandon him.
Stefan Zweig
Poet, novelist and dramatist Stefan Zweig lived in Salzburg from 1919 to 1934, in a mansion beneath the Kapuzinerberg. A committed pacifist, he fled the rise of Nazism, eventually settling in Brazil where he died in 1942. His works include Volpone, Marie Antoinette, and librettos for Richard Strauss.
The Sound of Music
The 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer was based on the Broadway musical and the real story of the von Trapp family. Fleeing Austria in 1938, they built a career as The Trapp Family Singers and later settled in Vermont.
Filming locations in Salzburg included Leopoldskron Palace, Mirabell Gardens, the Festival Hall, Nonnberg Abbey and Fronburg Palace. The Mondsee church was used for the wedding scene.
Lifestyle — Coffee, Cakes and Chocolate
Salzburg has an elegant, conservative culture with a strong café tradition. Tomaselli and Café Glockenspiel are emblematic cafés serving coffee with a glass of water and trays of pastries topped with whipped cream.
Local specialities include Mozartkugel chocolates and the dessert Salzburger Nockerl. Two famous beer halls, the Augustiner and the Stieglkeller, are popular spots below the fortress.
Science
Paracelsus (1493–1541)
Born in Switzerland and raised in Villach, Paracelsus settled in Salzburg where he narrowly escaped execution for supporting peasant uprisings. A radical thinker, he advanced theories of chemistry, holistic medicine and the “tria prima”—sulphur, mercury and salt. He died in 1541 and is buried in St. Sebastian’s cemetery.
Christian Doppler (1803–1853)
Doppler lived beside Mozart’s residence on the Makartplatz. His eponymous effect explains the frequency shift of sound when source and observer move relative to each other.