The Fortress

The fortress is the most visible landmark of Salzburg.  It was used both as a fortress to ward off attacks, and also as a residence off and on of the ruling Archbishop.  Today the fortress has many different areas to tour.  There were a lot of great opportunities to take amazing shots of the city and mountains, state rooms of the Archbishops to tour, a war museum, a prison area to tour and even a chance to see the "Salzburg Stier" which is a barrel organ that can either make nice music or battle-inspiring sounds, depending on the need of the city at the time.

Mozart & Marionette

I think it would be an understatement to say that music is a big deal in Salzburg.  It's not just Mozart either.  I passed a choir of teenage girls at the Christmas market that sounded professional.  And I passed two little boys playing the violin and piano on a street corner, and let me tell you that 7 year old was legit on the violin.  While in the city I visited Mozart's birthplace, which told a lot about the family and how they grew up, and had some neat displays of family items.

Also a big deal in the city are Marionette plays.  There were a couple exhibits/museums that I passed through, and it was really neat!

Salzburg, Österreich

This post is pictures of the city itself, and of the Salzburg Cathedral, museum and Residenz that I went to (though most pictures including the famous fortress will be in a later post).  Again, I can't even begin to express my deep and abiding love for this city.  There is too much to say, and too many pictures to post.  Stay with me...  The history is quite interesting.  For a very long time it was controlled by an Archbishop instead of a king, but the Archbishop had the authority just as a king would have.  So religion is so intertwined in the city's history that you can't separate the two.  My great-grandfather was Catholic, so it was really neat to see the churches that he might have attended.  The Residenz is where the Archbishops lived, at least when the city was peaceful enough that they didn't need to retreat to the fortress.

The first place I went after landing in Salzburg was church, it being Sunday morning and all.  The people at church were so friendly, and were so excited to here that my great-grandfather came from Salzburg.  I was even told that Gruber (my mother's maiden name) is a very Austrian name.

City

Food

Cathedral

Residenz--in the third and fourth pictures are rooms where the child Mozart performed some of his first concerts in front of the Archbishop of the time.  Further down is a red throne room, where the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph, once sat on a visit to the city.

Museum

This guy's last name was Sperl, which is also a family name....relative?