On Tour in Salzburg - Our Last Day with the A-Team

It was Saturday, June 4th, and the last full day with Sarah, Iz, and Katelyn.  We knew that we would have Saturday morning to go sightseeing, but that we would need the afternoon to drive back to Switzerland.  Then Sarah and Iz would have to do a gigantic packing job, as their flight was to leave early on Sunday morning.  We decided to use Rick Steve's Self-Guided Walk and try to cram in as much of old town Salzburg as possible.

First Stop - Mozartplatz

We started our tour at Mozartplatz where there is an statue of WAM which was erected in 1842. He spent a lot of his first 25 years in Salzburg. 

At the time, Salzburg was considered the greatest Baroque city north of the Alps.  However, the city is really a lot older than that. The statue sits on what used to be Roman Salzburg, and the Church of St. Michael, in all its pink splendor. which overlooks this same square, dates back to around A.D. 800.

Next stop - Residentzplatz

Back when this square was a Roman forum, important buildings ringed the square.  They still do.  We got shots of some of them.  But first, let me share a little history (so I will remember later).  Archbishop Wolf Dietrich was raised in Rome, the Medicis were his friends, and he had great "Italian" plans for Salzburg.   A "convenient" fire destroyed the old cathedral, and he started to build his "Rome of the North".  This square with a new cathedral and his palace became the centerpiece of his new Baroque dream.  I love how he had things designed into a series of interconnecting squares.  You can walk from one to the other, making a procession through old town. 

In the center of this square is a fountain as Italian as can be.  It boasts a Triton like Bernini's famous Triton Fountain in Rome.  This is what Salzburg.info says about it, "Residence Fountain is considered to be the most beautiful fountain in the city of Salzburg and certainly deserves a closer look: four snorting horses seem to spring forth from the spouting rock. Giants rooted in the rock carry the lower basin, in which three dolphins balance the scalloped upper basin. The upper basin holds a Triton, a jet of water shooting into the air from his conch-shell trumpet."

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On one side of the square is the New (Neue) Residenz, a former palace, but now the home of the central post office and government offices.  It also houses a really nice shop which shows off all the best local handicrafts---really pricey but nice (we did go visit that---didn't buy anything, but we got to look).  Atop the New Residenz is the famous glockenspiel.  A carillon of thirty-five 17th century bells is in this bell tower.  The bells can be heard throughout the day, and songs, appropriate to the season, are played three times a day.

On the opposite side of the square is what was Wolf Dietrich's palace, his "skippable" palace according to Rick Steves---not worth going to visit.  This is often referred to as the Old (Alte) Residenz.  The Old Residenz (below) is connected to the Salzburg Cathedral (or Dome Cathedral) by a skyway. 

I liked the doorway, of course!

The side of the cathedral forms a third side of Residenzplatz.  Once you walk through the arches which support the skyway, you have entered into Domplatz:

 Third Stop - Domplatz
 
The crown jewel here is definitely the domed Salzburg Cathedral.  The rest of the square is surrounded by the prince-archbishop's secular administration buildings.  Here's a blogging plethora of photos from the A-Team's camera (all the really good ones) and our's:
 
 

  



If you stand in just the right spot, you can get this picture, which is Mary (on the top of a statue in the courtyard) and the angels who are crowning her (actually part of the relief on the front of the cathedral).  Cool, huh?  And...DJ is the one that got this shot---he gets some good ones.





Taking it easy---don't you love DJ's bag??!!

Here's some shots from the inside:

  

 

One of five organs---Steves talks of days when the balconies were filled with musicians, and there were four organs playing up front.  It was an early take on "surround sound"!  Mozart, who was an organist at the church for two years, preferred the accoustics in the pews directly under the dome.



  

  



Baptismal font - This was left from the previous cathedral.  Made of bronze, the basin dates back to 1320, although the lid is modern.  Mozart was baptized here.  Did you know his middle name, Amadeus, means "beloved of God"?

 

Here's a few sidelights: 

DJ saw one of those machines where you put a penny (whatever they are in Euros---small coin) in, and it flattens it and prints something on the oval.  He thought it would be cool to have one with the cathedral on it which was shown in the pictures advertising the machine.  He was a little dismayed when it came out with a pigeon-looking bird on it instead.  Here was his (over) reaction:

Along the way, Sarah would read the commentary to us from Rick Steves' book to fill us in on what we were viewing.  I highly recommend his travel books---not full of glossy colored pictures, but the info in them is so helpful---where to get discount tickets, where to get public transportation, where to stand in line, what time of the day/year is best to see things, what to avoid, etc.  He rates sites so you know which ones are the "hot spots".  I personally loved his historical insights on things---don't leave home without it (not American Express, Steves' book)!



Katelyn listening intently---it was like storytime!

We headed in the direction of the fortress, through a little passageway and voila!---we were at our next stop.

Fourth stop -  Kapitelplatz

This was definitely the most unique square so far.  It wasn't so much for the buildings in the area, but for what was in the square itself.   But first, we needed to find something for Katelyn to eat; we could tell she was getting hungry or at least thirsty.  There were street vendors on site, so the problem was solved:



Yup, that's sunscreen!

 

Much better!



Here's some of what we saw:



A gigantic chess board in the middle of the square---we watched these two men play for awhile, and then after looking at other sites, DJ and Iz thought they were going to get their chance to play!  Unfortunately, just as we got to the "board", these same two men came back and set up for another game!


There's a foundation in Salzburg that has commissioned a different artist to create a new work of public art since 2002.  This golden orb is the piece from 2008.  The man at the top (sorry I cut off the top of his body) is looking up towards the fortress on the hill trying to decide whether to walk up the hill or give up 10 Euros to ride the funicular.


Sarah acting like she's holding up orb




This is a horse bath that was built in 1732.  It was the equivalent of today's car wash!



Fifth stop - St. Peter's Cemetery

In the right corner of the square, we went through a gate.  It led to a waterfall, a waterwheel, and St. Peter's Cemetery.  The stream coming down the hill was divided into a canal system (five of them) that  brought water into Salzburg from Berchtesgaden, 16 miles away, dating back to the 13th century.  The smaller canals provided fire protection, water to flush out the streets, and power for factories (until steam took over).  This waterwheel was part of that system.

Remember the cemetery that is pictured in TSOM?  You know, the one that appears to be attached to the abbey and had all the tall headstones and gates where the family hid from the Nazi forces.  Well, the set (yes, it was all Hollywood) was patterned after St. Peter's cemetery in old town.  And..you could so see where they got the ideas. 

  

 

St. Margaret's Church located in St. Peter's Cemetery was built in 1491.



Sixth stop - Square with the unknown name (sorry, I don't know what it was called)!  

We walked downhill through the cemetery, out the other side, and we were in another square.  If you hook a hard right, almost a 180, you are facing St. Peter's Church.

This is the doorway into St.Peter's Church---boy, from the pictures I've seen online of the inside, we missed another Baroque beauty.  However, we were running tight on time and needed to finish our tour  But...I got pics of the door.  Way cool, huh?



As you leave the church, just to the left, is a well-known restaurant, Stiftskeller St. Peter restaurant which specializes in Mozart dinner concerts.  Wish we would have known sooner, but really I don't know how much Katelyn could have kept up her "concert manners" at the end of a long day.  Another trip, maybe?  I hope so.

The steeple and roof of the Franciscan Church loom in the background of this square. 

Here's a statue of St. Rupert.  He seemed to wave good-bye to us as we entered our...

Seventh stop - Toscanini Hof

This square faces Festival Hall.  You may have guessed this is the place where the von Trapp's performed at the Salzburg Festival.  Entrance is only permitted in a guided tour---another miss from the inside, but the outside was pretty massive.

  

Next stop - Universitatsplatz 

This square is the home of the open-air market which is open every day but Sunday and is best on Saturday (guess when we were there?).  Saturday morning at the market---complete bedlam!  But oh, such fun to people watch as you weave you way through the crowds that throng there.



And oh, how appropriate, the last picture I snapped before making our way to the Pandora Store (you bet, I had to find a new charm) and to the bus stop was this little group creating "the sound of music".  Did I tell you I now L.O.V..E. Salzburg!