There's more to Salzburg than Mozart. In just a weekend, you can go hiking, visit a monastic beer garden, and cram in as much culture as you've got room for.
Salzburg is well known for its festival and its Mozartkugeln – chocolate and marzipan sweets. But most tourists don't get to know its beer, its medieval churches, and its mountains. Take a weekend to get to know the many different faces of the city.
On Saturday morning, start your tour at the Collegien church. It’s a fine baroque work by Fischer von Erlach; note the subtlety of the pastel colours used to define its architecture, and the fine star-patterned pavement under the central dome. Outside, there’s a Saturday market from early in the morning.
Visit the medieval Franciscan church next. The dark, massive Romanesque nave suddenly opens up into a high, luminous Gothic hall choir, supported on columns that seem impossibly slender. It’s an amazing, dramatic effect.
The First Baroque City in the North
Just a few paces from this church is the baroque cathedral. This cathedral, and the squares around it,
were planned by archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raithenau, using Italian architects who could work in the most up to date styles. His successors continued his work to make Salzburg the first Baroque city north of the Alps.
Under the cliff of the Monchberg is the monastery of St Peter’s, with a fine cemetery where, among others, Mozart’s sister Nannerl and contemporary Michael Haydn are buried. It's a peaceful place, not a morbid one.
For lunch, try a fine Gasthaus, the Wilder Mann, off Getreidegasse. It serves local Stiegl brews – try the ‘Zwickl’ unfiltered beer – and traditional Austrian food in huge portions. Then wander some of the Durchauser, medieval alleyways that run through hidden courtyards and in tunnels under the houses.
A Palace for an Archbishop's Mistress
In the afternoon, visit the Mirabell Castle and its gardens on the other side of the river Salzach. Wolf Dietrich built this palace for his mistress Salome. Inside, the Marmorsaal and fine baroque staircase are worth seeing. Just off the formal gardens is the little baroque museum. If you’ve ever wondered where artists got their ideas from or how they got started, it has a fine collection of sketches and models which show how the works of art evolved.
Wander back by way of the Trinity church, a fine concave façade by Fischer von Erlach. You can see how his baroque style brings all the drama of the Roman baroque to Salzburg.
Saturday evening is time to visit one of the most splendid beer halls and beer gardens in the country – the Augustinerbrau, in Muelln, opposite one of the prettiest rococo churches in the town. You can buy your dinner from one of the stalls – bread and cheese, sausages, roast pork, or dumplings. Then queue up to buy your beer-ticket, get your earthenware mug and get it filled at the busy counter. It’s a bit of culture shock for those used to a regular bar – but you soon get used to it.
A Hike in the Austrian Mountains
Sunday morning is a good time to head up to the heights of the Monchenberg. Wander along the top of the hill, through trees and past ancient fortifications. Spend some time visiting James Turrell’s unusual art work, ‘Skyspace’, outside the Museum of Modern Art, and watch the clouds passing by through the opening in its dome. You can take lunch at the museum’s restaurant, ‘M32’, on the cliff top with a fine view of the city below.
You’ve had a good long hike, so spend the afternoon in the Residenzmuseum, with a remarkable collection of Baroque paintings and old masters, including a fine Rembrandt. All too soon, it will be time to go – but you’ll have seen all the different sides of the city. And you’ll want to come back for more.
