Sound of Music Tour (Self Guided), Salzburg

Mirabell Palace (Schloss Mirabell) in Salzburg is a renowned cultural heritage monument and part of Salzburg's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Originally built around 1606 by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, the palace was intended as a residence for him and his mistress and was constructed based on Italian and French designs.

The palace underwent significant transformations after Raitenau's deposition in 1612. His successor renamed it Mirabell, which means "amazing" or "wonderful" in Italian. From 1721 to 1727, it was extensively rebuilt in a Baroque style. Further changes gave the building its Neoclassical appearance.

Upon entry, you will be stunned by its 'staircase of thunder' – an elaborate, curved, shiny affair that leads up to the Marble Hall, full of angel sculptures and excessive stucco work.

The Marble Hall inside the palace is notable for hosting "Salzburg Palace Concerts" and weddings, including the 1944 marriage of Gretl Braun, sister of Eva Braun (Hitler's mistress), attended by notable Nazi figures. Aside from enjoying a reputation as one of the most sought-after wedding halls in the world (bookable up to two years in advance), the Marble Hall hosts frequent nightly Mozart concerts and the master himself used to “tickle the ivories” there.

Off to the side, you'll find a striking chapel with a vaulted ceiling and baroque statues of Saint Augustine and others.

The palace's gardens feature a mixture of mythology-themed statues from 1730 and four groups of sculpture (Aeneas, Hercules, Paris, and Pluto) created in 1690. The stunning scenery is further accentuated by geometrically structured garden beds, with multi-colored flowers blasting your eyeballs from every perspective.

In the middle of it all is the Pegasus Fountain which makes a memorable "The Sound of Music" shooting location for the “Do Re Mi” song. Nearest to the horse, stairs lead to the creepy Dwarf Park, where a herd of misshapen, sizable dwarfs sculptured in marble are all lined up in military formation. Visitors can also explore the vine tunnel and hedge maze, echoing scenes from the film. As a dramatic finale, you can follow the steps that the Von Trapp kids from the movie hopped up like musical notes and enjoy a spectacular view of the High Salzburg Fortress (Hohensalzburg) framed by the garden.

Sitting high up on the Monk's Hill (Mönchsberg) overlooking the west side of Old Town Salzburg from a steep cliff, Winkler Terrace is where the 'Do Re Mi' song begins in "The Sound of Music" as Maria has the children mix up the order of the musical notes, just for practice, while bringing the song into the city from a meadow. Earlier in the film, Maria also appears on this terrace when leaving the convent on her way to the Von Trapps for the first time.

Back in 1965, this terrace housed the historic Café Winkler offering a stunning panorama of Salzburg; now that café has been replaced by another one – called M32 – and the Modern Art Museum, but the view is still there. From the terrace, you can observe the entire city center and the Salzach River down below, plus the High Fortress and the red Nonnberg Abbey spire straight across the Old Town.

Tip:
To go up the terrace you have two possibilities: 1) on foot: around 15-20 minutes; 2) via the electric Mönchsberg lift, in a matter of seconds, for a fee.

Underneath the cliff-side of Monk's Hill (Mönchsberg) sits the largest of the two surviving Medieval horse baths in Salzburg which, back in the Middle Ages, were analogues to today's car washes. In the Sound of Music movie, this long fountain is the one that Maria and the Von Trapp kids dance around and splash in water during the instrumental ending to "My Favorite Things". Additional scenes for the movie were also shot at the fountain but were later cut out from the end version.

Both of Salzburg's horse bath fountains are fed by ancient underground canals that have been in use since Roman times and revamped repeatedly during the 700s and 1200s. This magnificent high baroque watering pond makes for a fabulous attraction nearby the former royal stables, located in what is now the Großes Festspielhaus (Large Festival House) just across the street on Hofstallgasse. The Prince Archbishop's horses were cooled, washed off and watered here after their ceremonial parades. At the center of the pond, a dramatic sculpture of a dynamic horse being restrained by its handler is backed by a great sequence of frescoes portraying horses in various states of dynamic activity.

The main stages for the world famous Salzburg Festival are comprised of two festival halls and the Felsenreitschule (literally "Rock Riding School"). Commissioned in the early 1600s, the former were once the riding stables of Salzburg's Prince Archbishops, while the latter, erected in the 1690s, was originally used as a summer riding school and for animal hunts. The complex took on many other uses before famous Austrian-American theater director, Max Reinhardt, took on the venue for the Salzburg Festival in 1926.

The Großes Festspielhaus (Large Festival House), in its current form, was designed specifically for the Salzburg Festival, having been inaugurated in July 1960 with a performance of Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" conducted by Herbert von Karajan, who also worked with the main architect, Holzmeister, on aspects of the building's design. The building includes office space and tunneling into the Mönchsberg as well as a 2,179-seat performance space adaptable for both scenic and non-scenic events and acoustically scalable down for piano and song recitals. The stage is one of the widest in the world, at 100 metres (330 ft). Access from the street to the lobby is through five bronze doors, above which is inscribed a Latin motto by Thomas Michels: SACRA CAMENAE DOMUS / CONCITIS CARMINE PATET / QUO NOS ATTONITOS / NUMEN AD AURAS FERAT ("The Muse's holy house is open to those moved by song / divine power bears us up who are inspired").

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Stretching for more than a city block, tucked against Mönchsberg's steep cliff, the massive Rock Riding School is an iconic location that hosted some of the most powerful scenes in the movie. It is here that the Von Trapp children rehearse for the festival and where, later on, Captain Georg von Trapp performs "Edelweiss" with the help of the audience, at first, and then of his family who joined him on stage to sing "So Long, Farewell", prior to fleeing Salzburg to escape the Nazis.

In real life, though, the Von Trapps' performance at the Festspiele happened somewhat differently. The family did perform at the Festival, in 1935, and then in 1936, when after officially forming their choir, they won the first place there. Only that was almost two years before the Anschluss (Nazi annexation) of Austria. After their refusal to sing for Hitler on his birthday in April of 1938, the family fled to Italy a couple of months later, ahead that year's Festival depicted in the movie.

Why You Should Visit:
A backstage tour of the Festival Halls is well worth doing, especially to see the Rock Riding School, converted to a theatre now with a retractable roof. Conducted in both German and English, tours run for about one hour, which is time worth spending to understand the architecture, artwork, as well as theatrical and technical feats.

Saint Peter's Abbey (Stift Sankt Peter) is a Benedictine monastery and former cathedral. Considered one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking world, the abbey was founded in 696 by Saint Rupert. Despite challenges during the Nazi regime in 1938, the abbey maintained operation and remains active to this very day.

A marvelous steeple crowned with an onion dome gives an admirable facade to the Abbey Church. Since its dedication in 1147, this Romanesque church underwent multiple renovations, acquiring its Rococo style in 1782. The church houses significant graves, including that of Martin Luther's superior.

Saint Peter's Abbey is home to Austria's oldest library, comprising nearly 100,000 volumes. The Rococo-style library is particularly noted for its extensive collection of manuscripts, incunabula, and local history volumes, along with special collections of graphics and maps. It also contains a notable collection of music manuscripts from composers like Mozart and Haydn. Additionally, the abbey houses diverse collections of paintings and other artifacts, although some are not accessible to the public. Access to the library requires a special permit.

During his early years in Salzburg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the Dominikus Mass for Saint Peter's Abbot Dominikus Hagenauer, in 1769. Hagenauer wrote in his diary: "Music for the Mass composed by Wolfgang Mozart, 14 years of age, was in every one's opinion most elegant. Wolfgang Mozart played on the great organ for half an hour to the astonishment of all." The composer returned to Saint Peter's in 1783 to conduct his "Mass in C minor," which is now performed at the Salzburg Festival each summer.

The abbey complex also contains a very old (established circa 700 AD) cemetery. The oldest graves in Saint Peter's Cemetery (Petersfriedhof) date back to the late 13th century. Distinguished individuals including Mozart's sister Nannerl (an accomplished musician in her own right), Joseph Haydn's brother Michael, and sculptor Josef Thorak are buried here.

The cemetery grounds are also known for the catacombs carved into rocks, which served as early Christian assembly places and hermitages. Wonderful to visit, they are filled with early altars, faded murals, and inscriptions.

In "The Sound of Music" movie, the Von Trapp family goes into hiding from the Nazis at a local cemetery. The actual scene was filmed on a Hollywood set meticulously recreating the setting inspired by Saint Peter's cemetery.

Why You Should Visit:
Everything here is free to visit except for the catacombs which cost a modest fee.

Flanked by the Salzburg Cathedral and other buildings belonging to the church, this square is used today as a venue for performances and as the site of the annual Christmas market which has taken place here annually for the last 500 years. Temporary traditional wooden huts are erected, and visitors can buy trinkets, rural crafts, and typical Austrian food/drinks like hot mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. If you visit during Christmas Eve, don't miss the 'Turmblasen' which is a traditional feature with brass instruments playing chorale music from the city tower or the steeple of the church.

Interestingly, the Domplatz is accessed by three open arcade arches in the north, south, and west. These "cathedral arches" unite the cathedral with the Salzburg Residenz and St. Peter's Abbey to form a unique enclosed square measuring 101 meters long and 69 meters wide, with walls 81 meters high.

The square is dominated by the Maria Immaculata (Immaculate Mary) column, commissioned by Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach and executed by the brothers Wolfgang and Johann Hagenauer between 1766-71. Modeled after similar columns in Vienna and Munich and constructed of marble and cast iron, the Maria Immaculata depicts the Virgin Mary enthroned on a mountain of clouds made of Untersberg marble and a globe. The central Marian figure is surrounded on four sides by allegoric figures representing angels, the devil, wisdom, and the Church. According to a plaque on the cathedral, the figure group shows reactions to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception—the angels are delighted, human wisdom vanishes, the envious devil growls, and the triumphant Church rejoices. When viewed from the center of the arcades at the back of Domplatz, the classicist column is positioned in the central axis of the cathedral and shows the central Marian figure surrounded by the angels on the cathedral façade and seems to wear the crown mounted on the building.

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The Domplatz first appears in The Sound of Music when Maria exits it through the arches. It can further be seen during the "My Favorite Things" montage when Maria and the children scurry across the square in their picnic clothes.

As Salzburg's center of government, the historic Residence Square (Residenzplatz) has long been at the heart of the city, set on the site of a former Roman Forum. Originally known as Main Square (Hauptplatz), it was renamed after the Old Residence (Alte Residenz) Palace, the former dwelling of the city's rulers – prince-archbishops – located to the west.

Flanking the square on the sides are several important buildings, such as the Salzburg Cathedral (to the south), and the New Residence (Neue Residenz) to the east, with its bell tower now housing the Salzburg Museum (to the west).

The square's construction began in 1587, as part of the grand project by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau to make Salzburg the new "Rome of the North." For that purpose, some of the surrounding medieval homes, as well as the cemetery (above the ancient Roman Forum) had to be leveled.

The square's focal point is the massive central 45-foot-tall Residence Fountain (Residenzbrunnen). Completed between 1656 and 1661 by Tommaso di Garona, it is as Italian as it can be (reportedly the largest and most beautiful Baroque fountain outside of Italy). Made from Untersberg limestone, its design features a Triton statue that propels water upwards – an over-the-top version of Bernini's famous Triton Fountain in Rome.

Notably, in the movie “The Sound Of Music”, the lead character Maria sings "I Have Confidence in Me" while crossing the square by bus on her way to the Trapp villa. She's also seen playfully splashing the fountain's spouting horses.

In the more recent past, Residence Square served as a venue for major rock concerts by the likes of Joe Cocker and Tina Turner. Presently, apart from being a historical site, it is also a vibrant cultural venue hosting various events, including an open-air cinema during summer, a fair in September, and a Christmas market during Advent.

In the 2010s, the square underwent a refurbishment which included the erection of a monument to mark the 80th anniversary of the Nazi book burning that took place here in 1938.

Tip:
Grab some lunch from the nearby bakeries or shops and sit on one of the benches near the fountain, enjoying the view.

The famous Mozartsteg is a filigree Art Nouveau footbridge over the Salzach River linking the Old Town and Stone Lane (Steingasse). Built in 1903, it was the result of efforts by a wealthy local businessman who lobbied and donated the funds for construction in order to increase customer traffic to his café. Today, the picturesque Mozartsteg is a spot for photographs by tourists and part of the tours that take visitors around locations where The Sound of Music was filmed.

Take in the charming, historic core of Salzburg's Old Town while the milky-green Salzach thunders under your feet. Although the river has not salty but fresh water, its name comes from the precious cargo it once carried. The major salt mines of Hallein are just 12 miles (~20 km) upstream. For two millenia, hundreds of barges carried salt from here to the wider world: the Danube, the Black Sea, and on to the Mediterranean. As barges passed through, they had to pay a toll on their "white gold". The city was made great from the trading of salt (Salz) defended by a castle (Burg)—"Salz-burg."

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In the film, it is across this bridge and along the grassy riverbank nearby that Maria and the kids cheerfully skip while pointing at the sights during the instrumental ending of the song "My Favorite Things".

Nonberg Convent (Stift Nonnberg) is probably the most famous of all The Sound of Music sites in Salzburg. Founded by Saint Erentrudis, the niece of Saint Rupert (Bishop of Worms) in 712-715, this historic Benedictine Convent is the oldest continuously existing abbey in the German-speaking world. Perched high over the east side of Salzburg, it made an excellent location for many powerful scenes in the famous musical.

The complex that makes up the convent includes the Maria Himmelfahrt church, the cloisters, a pillar hall, the abbey, the kitchen court, the dining hall, the Saint John's Chapel, the Pieta Chapel, and other small buildings. With impressive Gothic-type architecture, beautifully maintained headstones, and a very tranquil ambiance, it is a marvelous sight to see.

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It was here that the real-life Maria (Maria Augusta Kutschera), aged 19, came to live in 1924, stayed for two years as a nun apprentice, became a tutor for one of the widowed Captain Von Trapp's sick children, and then married him on November 26th, 1927, 11 years before the Nazis took over the city. At the time of her marriage, Maria was 22 and Georg – 47.

The scene of their wedding was filmed at Collegiate Church in Mondsee, Austria, while the majority of the indoor scenes – as well as that with the nuns singing "Maria" in the convent courtyard – were shot in a California studio. Filming inside the courtyard was not allowed, so they had to do it at a re-created set in Hollywood and a small studio in Salzburg. Still, there were four iconic scenes shot on the actual grounds, near the gate, including those in which Maria leaves the abbey wondering "What will this day be like?". The nuns talk about Maria, the children come to visit, and the Nazis go on the hunt for the Von Trapps after their escape, upon which the nuns disable their car.

At the time of the filming, there were 50 nuns residing in the convent; now there are only 14 left (as at 2017). Each morning at 6:45am the resident nuns gather to sing Gregorian chants in Latin which is a real treat.

Why You Should Visit:
If you want to get off the beaten path and see a church that seems unaffected by the passing of time, this is a great stop!

Tip:
For some of the finest Romanesque and Gothic artwork in Austria and Europe, go to the Convent's museum ("Stiftsmuseum"). Make sure you also have some 50-cent coins to light up the area at the back of the church and see Roman frescoes (painted around 1140) or the baroque altar and side altars (dating back to 1515).

With a fascinating history beginning in the 1730s courtesy of the then Prince-Archbishop, Count Leopold Anton Eleutherius von Firmian, this rococo mansion is beautifully located at lake edge and with terrific vistas of the mountains. A further contribution to the cultural life of the city was the founding of the Salzburg Festival here by Max Reinhardt and others. You will very much enjoy your time here, admiring the beauty and strolling around the grand surrounds. An on-site hotel offers bicycles for the guests to take into the city, which is also a fantastic way to get around in the beautiful countryside.

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Located about 4 miles away from the real-life Von Trapp Villa (which didn't itself appear in the film), this castle served as the primary location for all the lake terrace scenes at the Von Trapp family house in The Sound of Music.

Overlooking a small lake, the castle's façade provided backdrop for the most iconic outdoor scenes including those of drinking pink lemonade on the terrace, Captain Von Trapp hearing his kids sing for the first time, the children and Maria falling off the boat into the lake, as well as numerous shots of the lakeside horse statues framing up Untersberg Mountain.

The castle was also the original home to the gazebo from the movie, which was later moved to the nearby, more tourist-friendly Hellbrunn Palace Gardens after the fans started climbing the palace gates to see it. The second and much larger gazebo was built at Fox Studios in Hollywood for all of the scenes set inside the family home – the bedroom, the grand foyer and the staircase, as well as the lavish golden Venetian ballroom. These re-created spaces are featured when Maria is introduced to the children, when they sing at the party, performing "Lonely Goatherd" with carved puppets, as well as when they dance to the song "16 Going on 17" and bid their farewells.

Why You Should Visit:
There isn't an angle of the building to look at that isn't absolutely incredible; inside or out.

Tip:
Don't miss the fantastic water park (Freibad Leopoldskron) right opposite the castle!