Highlights of the Classic tour:
Getreidegasse and its passageways, so-called "Durchhäuser"
Salzburg"s Getreidegasse is the city"s iconic shopping location. The hustle and bustle of the shopping world can be felt here all year round.
With its tall, narrow rows of buildings and elaborate, intricate shop signs, the unique charm of this historic street never fails to delight. Happily, long-standing craft and commercial enterprises have been able to keep their workshops and workplaces here over the years. Even today, there are still umbrella makers, leatherworkers, tailors, liquor distillers, button-makers, bagmakers, beltmakers, metalworkers and carpet weavers in operation here.
The Salzburger Mozartkugeln are not the only "Salzburg speciality" – the Durchhäuser (passages) were also designed here. Until the mid-16th century, the Frauengarten was situated between Getreidegasse and the Mönchsberg. The women of the St. Peter"s women"s convent used this garden to grow vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants. Due to the expansion of the city to the Prince-Archbishop"s residence, more space was required for housing. The archbishops permitted the construction of a second row of houses on the land of the Frauengarten, until the latter had disappeared entirely. As a result, these buildings could only be reached via public passages – so-called Durchhäuser – which led through the private town houses. Each passageway has its own unique charm – no two are alike.
The birthplace of Mozart
This building was also called the Hofapothekerhaus or Hagenauerhaus and was documented as early as 1372. Today, it is the most photographed image on the whole Getreidegasse. In 1747, the Mozart family moved into the 3rd floor. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was brought into this world in these rooms on 27th January 1756. The museum contains rare exhibits from Mozart"s childhood and provides an insight into the living conditions in Salzburg at that time.
Preserved original instruments, such as his childhood violin, are a particular highlight.
Salzburg Cathedral
This Gesamtkunstwerk of the early Baroque period, with its imposing façade made of so-called “Untersberg trout marble", never fails to impress visitors. The façade was sculpted in accordance with the specifications of the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and illustrates the teachings and themes of the Catholic Church as a kind of “built creed” in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation
The representation of these ideas is continued inside the building in the stucco paintings (Quadri riportati) by Arsenio Mascagni (1579–1636). In the spirit of a "via sacra", the faithful visitor is led to the high point at the main altar, which bears the latin inscription "You havw shown me the ways of life".
The architectural history of this early Baroque building by Santino Solari is absolutely fascinating: its consecration in 1628, under Paris Lodron, was celebrated with a lavish and sensuous eight-day Baroque feast during the Thirty Years" War. A veritable "who"s who" of the high clergy and European dynasties were hosted here during the chaos of the war.
Mirabell Palace and Mirabell Gardens
Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau built the palace in 1606 as a villa suburbana for his life companion Salome Alt. His successors expanded it into a representative palace complex with a Baroque pleasure garden. The Mirabell Gardens were redesigned around 1690 under Prince-Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun. Its clever design, which highlights the cathedral and fortress, still gives the garden a grandiose impact today, while at the same time integrating it into the historic old town.
The Four Elements Fountain by Ottavio Mosto is a baroque synthesis of arts.
The lush selection of plants varies depending on the season. The combination of vibrant, open sections of the garden – such as the Small and Grand Parterres – and shady, tranquil areas such as the pergola and hedge theatre, never ceases to amaze both locals and visitors from all over the world.
The Marble Hall, with its magnificent "angel staircase" entrance, is considered one of the most beautiful wedding halls in the world.
The ornamental curved balustrade is adorned with famed putti figures. Like the Roman deities in the alcoves, they are the product of Georg Raphael Donner"s workshop.
The Baroque era loved the delightful interplay between opposites. In the Mirabell Gardens, 28 larger-than-life, idealised Roman deities meet alongside 28 misshapen dwarves, smaller than life-size. The Dwarf Garden features a fascinating iconography and is the oldest of its kind in Europe. There is certainly no shortage of humour here to conjure a smile on visitors" faces.
Walk of Modern Art
It is not only the lavish remnants of days gone by that make Salzburg so captivating.
The city is also characterised by contemporary artworks.
The Walk of Modern Art, which evolved on the city"s spectacular plazas between 2002 and 2011, is unique in the world. Its works, located in the heart of the city, are freely accessible and easy to walk around.
The Classic tour still contains a few surprises that are not even common knowledge among some of the locals.
Get ready to be amazed and inspired!