Salzburg
Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburg's "Old Town" with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centers in the German-speaking world, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its Alpine setting. It is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the setting for parts of the musical and film The Sound of Music. Salzburg is also a student city, with three universities.
Geography
Salzburg is on the banks of the Salzach river, at the northern boundary of the
Alps. The mountains to Salzburg's south contrast with the rolling plains to
the north. The closest alpine peak – the 1972 m Untersberg – is
only a few kilometers from the city center. The Altstadt, or "old town",
is dominated by its baroque towers and churches and the massive Festung Hohensalzburg.
This area is surrounded by two smaller mountains, the Mönchsberg and Kapuzinerberg
as the green lung of the city. Salzburg is approximately 150 km east of Munich,
Germany, and 300 km west of Vienna.
History
Traces of human settlements have been found in the area, dating to the Neolithic
Age; probably it was later a Celt camp. Starting from 15 BCE, the small communities
were grouped into a single town, which was named by the Romans as Juvavum. A
municipium, from 45 CE it became one of the most important cities in the province
of Noricum. Juvavum declined sharply after the collapse of the Norican frontier,
such that by the late 7th century it had become a "near ruin".
The Life of Saint Rupert credits the saint with the city's rebirth. When Theodo of Bavaria asked Rupert to become bishop c. 700, Rupert reconnoitered the river for the site of his basilica. Rupert chose Juvavum, ordained priests, and annexed the manor Piding. Rupert named the city "Salzburg", and then left to evangelize among the pagans.
The name Salzburg literally means "Salt Castle", and derives its name from the barges carrying salt on the Salzach river, which were subject to a toll in the 8th century, as was customary for many communities and cities on European rivers.
The Festung Hohensalzburg, the city's fortress, was built in 1077 and expanded during the following centuries.
Independence from Bavaria was secured in the late 14th century.
Landowners were given 2 days to sell their lands and leave. Cattle, sheep, furniture and land all had to be dumped on the market, and the Salzburgers received little money from the well-to-do Catholic allies of Von Firmian. Von Firmian himself confiscated much of their land for his own family, and ordered all Protestant books and Bibles burned. Many children aged 12 and under were seized to be raised as Roman Catholics. Yet those who owned land benefitted from one key advantage: the three-month deadline delayed their departure until after the worst of winter.
Non-owner farmers, tradesmen, laborers and miners were given only 8 days to sell what they could and leave. The first refugees marched north through the Alps in desperately cold temperatures and snow storms, seeking shelter in the few cities of Germany controlled by Protestant Princes, while their children walked or rode on wooden wagons loaded with baggage.
As they went, the exiles' savings were quickly drained away as they were set upon by highwaymen, who seized taxes, tolls and payment for protection by soldiers from robbers.
The story of their plight spread quickly as their columns marched north. Goethe wrote the poem Hermann and Dorothea about the Salzburg exiles' march. Protestants and even some Catholics were horrified at the cruelty of their expulsion in winter, and the courage they had shown by not renouncing their faith. Slowly at first, they came upon towns that welcomed them and offered them aid. But there was no place where such a large number of refugees could settle.
Finally, in 1732 Lutheran King Frederick William I of Prussia accepted 12,000 Salzburger Protestant emigrants, who settled in areas of East Prussia that had been devastated by the plague twenty years before. [1] Their new homelands were located in what today is northeastern Poland, the Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lithuania. Other, smaller groups made their way to the Banat region of modern Romania, to what is now Slovakia, to areas near Berlin and Hannover in Germany, and to the Netherlands. Another small group made its way to Debrecen (Hungary).
On March 12, 1734, a small group of about sixty exiles from England who had traveled to London arrived in the British American colony of Georgia seeking religious freedom. Later in that year, they were joined by a second group, and, by 1741, a total of approximately 150 of the Salzburg exiles had founded the town of Ebenezer on the Savannah River, about twenty-five miles north of the city of Savannah. Other German-speaking families – mostly Swiss Germans, Palatines and Swabians – also joined the Salzburgers at Ebenezer. In time, all of these Germanic people became known as "Salzburgers".
In 1772-1803, under archbishop Mincus Sable, Salzburg was a centre of late Illuminism. In 1803, the archbishopric was secularized and handed over to Ferdinand III of Tuscany, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, and, two years later it was annexed to Austria together with Berchtesgaden. In 1810 it was returned to Bavaria, but after the Congress of Vienna (1816) it was again restored to Austria. In 1850 it became an independent territory of the Austrian crown.
Shoppers on Getreidegasse.
In 1921, in an unofficial poll, 99% of citizens voted for annexation to Germany.[2]
On March 13, 1938, during the Anschluss, German troops occupied Salzburg; political
opponents and Jewish citizens were subsequently arrested, and the synagogue
was destroyed. Several POW camps for prisoners from the Soviet Union and other
nations were organized in the area.
During World War II, the KZ Salzburg-Maxglan concentration camp was located here. It was a Roma camp and provided slave labour to local industry.[3] Allied bombing destroyed 7,600 houses and killed 550 inhabitants. Although the town's bridges and the dome of the cathedral were demolished, much of its Baroque architecture remained intact. As a result, it is one of the few remaining examples of a town of its style. American troops entered Salzburg on May 5, 1945
In the city of Salzburg there were several DP Camps following World War II. Among these were Riedenburg, Camp Herzl (Franz-Josefs-Kaserne), Camp Mülln, Bet Bialik, Bet Trumpeldor, and New Palestine. Salzburg was the centre of the American-occupied area in Austria.
On January 27, 2006, the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Mozart,
all 35 churches of Salzburg rang their bells a little after 8PM (local time)
to celebrate the occasion. Major celebrations took place throughout the year.
Main sights
Early Morning SceneSalzburg is a tourist favourite, with the number of tourists
outnumbering locals by a large margin in peak times. In addition to Mozart's
birthplace noted above, other notable places include:
Old Town
The whole Old Town of Salzburg was nominated as a World Heritage Site in 1996.
The baroque architecture including the many churches are world famous.
The Salzburg Cathedral
The fortress Hohensalzburg on a hill dominating the old town is one of the largest
castles in Europe, with views over Salzburg.
The Franziskanerchurch
The St.Peter cemetery
The Nonnberg Abbey a Benedictine monastery
The "Residenz" Palace (the magnificent former Prince-Archbishop's
residence)
Mozart's Birthplace
Mozart's Residence
The University Church
The Siegmundstor (or Neutor)
The Getreidegasse
Outside the Inner Old Town
Palace of Mirabell with its wide gardens full of flowers
The palace of Leopoldskron is a rococo palace and a national historic monument
in Leopoldskron-Moos, a southern district of the city of Salzburg.
Hellbrunn with its parks and castles
Tour companies operate tours of locations used in the film The Sound of Music.
Within the greater Salzburg area
Anif Castle
The Basilika Maria Plain on the Calvary Hill, a late Baroque church, on the
northern edge of Salzburg.
Salzburger Freilichtmuseum Großgmain, an open-air museum containing old
farmhouses/farm buildings from all over the state assembled in historic setting.
The Schloss Klessheim Palace (today a Casino) was formerly used by Adolf Hitler
The Berghof, Hitler's mountain retreat of which only the Eagle's Nest remains,
was in nearby Berchtesgaden
The Salzkammergut is an area of lakes in the Salzburg state, east of the city
and further on into the provinces of Upper Austria and Styria.
The Untersberg mountain is next to the city, straddling the German-Austrian
border, and on a clear day provides panoramic views of the city and the Alps.
Skiing is a key attraction during winter. Salzburg itself has no skiing facilities,
but it acts as a gateway to skiing areas to the south. During the winter months
its airport receives a large number of charter flights from around Europe.
