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Home Page > Travelogues > Austria > Salzburg > Altstadt (Old City)
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We purchased a copy of "Sound of Music" when the 40th
Anniversary edition was released. The only previous time seeing the movie
was as a boy, so the history told within the movie went completely over my head.
I only remembered the popular children's songs ("Do-Re-Mi," "My
The fact that (at least parts of) "Sound of Music" was shot on
location Salzburg's Old City stands on the south bank of the Salzach
River beneath the Hohensalzburg Castle. It
is like several other Austrian old cities I have visited, generally circular or
half-circular in shape with a high wall of buildings facing the river and the
inner roads arrayed a circle around a central plaza and/or main church or
Cathedral and/or palace. The Salzburg Cathedral, shown in both the first
and second photographs, and the Salzburg Residenz form the centerpiece for this
city. The two face toward each other, but are offset so each has its own
The interior of the Cathedral is very impressive and unmistakably Austrian -- white with lots of red marble, gilding, and gorgeous artwork. Unlike other Cathedrals, however, the organ is located towards the front of the church rather than at the back above the mezzanine. I had the pleasure of listening in on a small choir rehearsal when I was there, roughly six shivering musicians huddled together with the organist singing beautiful melodies over the magnificent altar.
It was from the Cathedral that I went up to the Castle,
down to St. Peter's Abbey (whose cemetery was used in "Sound in Music"), and resumed my downtown tour further to the west.
The third photograph shows the exit archway through St. Peter's Abbey and the
Bishops Residence toward the commercial district of the downtown. The
building in the distance was the Festspielhaus (also used in the movie along
with a horse monument nearby), one of the city theaters (and
Salzburg has a number of city theaters and opera houses). This structure
is built against t
The "Sound of Music" is not the only entertainment that Salzburg is famous
for... there's
The next morning I returned early to the downtown to attend Mass at the Salzburg Cathedral. It was beautiful and sunny, and the Cathedral was full of parishioners and of music. I don't know if it was the same choir, but they were terrific in any case. The classical heritage of Austrian music is very much alive. It's hard to imagine how the "Sound of Music" might have been made in modern times. Would it have been made on location, or would they have blue-screened it or used a like location and called it "Salzburg"? Dunno. I'm glad they did it for real because the setting greatly added to the movie, and it has served as a major draw for Salzburg tourism. Meanwhile, true to Austrian form, the city has wisely elected not to modernize the downtown too much. Oh, you'll find a McDonald's there all right, but it seemed like much of the rest of the old city was unchanged. ("The hills are aliiiiiiiiiiiive ... hhmmmm mmm mmm mmm)
Other Chapters in the
Salzburg
section:
Trip Taken 5 January 2002 -- Page Last Updated 01 September 2006 -- (C) 2002 Tom Galvin |
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Favorite
Things," etc.). This time, I was completely enraptured, having visited Salzburg
in 2002, recognizing a number of the city's monuments, and knowing a lot more
about Austria's history, particularly since the dissolution of its empire.
I shivered when I saw the march of Nazi troops across the front of the Salzburg Cathedral.
I was moved to tears when Captain von Trapp sang "Edelweiss" at the musical
competition. I did not previously understand the significance of that song
(a regional hymn commonly sung in Austria and southern Germany) nor the emotions
within the performance (as a boy, I understood running away from the Nazis and
all that but did not understand that the man was eulogizing his homeland).
This is why in 2006 I elected to take my original 2002
travelogue of Salzburg and expand it significantly. I suddenly found I had
a lot more to say.
greatly added to the allure of the movie. Salzburg's Old City circa 1965
is the same Old City as today, except that most of the main attractions have
since been repainted or fixed-up. The city offers "Sounds of Music" tours
in the summertime where tourists get to see some of the monuments included in
the film (they may have been offered in the wintertime also, but I didn't try)
along with rides to the mountains where Julie Andrews supposedly sang the title
song. This is one of those rare places where time seemed to have stood
still.
plaza
with fountains and marketplaces. The Residenzplatz hosted an ice skating
rink when I went. As the second photo shows, the Residenzplatz was also
where one can hire a horse carriage even in the dead of winter, although
obviously business during the colder months is comparatively slow.
he
base of the Moenchsberg, the tall rocky hill upon which the Hohensalzburg sits.
Not far from there is Salzburg's main specialty shopping street, the Griedegasse.
This street extends several hundred meters across the narrow western part of the
city. Although this picture does not show this well, the city's Christmas
street decorations were out in abundance, as were the crowds. Along with
the usual trappings -- neat stores, restaurants, etc. -- were a couple local
pretzel vendors on the street. These pretzels were large enough to be a
meal unto themselves! I barely finished one.
also
Mozart. The Mozart theme was pervasive there -- from the big Mozart statue
to Austrian chocolates advertising Mozart to the stylish museum called "Mozart's
Geburtshaus" (birthplace). This museum may have been a tourist trap, but
it was a really good one. I felt like it portrayed lifestyle in Salzburg
during that era and it devoted plenty of space to explaining Mozart's rise to
prominence as a musician writing compositions for use in the church and his
career. The museum sits only a few doors away from the Salzach River, and
its golden color (as seen in the fifth photograph) made it an easy thing to
find.
