The magical city of Salzburg, Austria's fourth largest town and one of the best preserved cities north of the Alps, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, is nestled under the mountains on the Salzach River. Famous for being the home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and also The Sound of Music. Salzburg, the peach of Austria; prosperous, rich in culture and outstanding natural beauty has an ancient and fascinating story.

Salt Mining in Salzburg

It's name 'Såizburg'; literally: "Salt Fortress" speaks of its incredible heritage dating back to Neolithic man and the Romans, who mined the salt from the nearby mines and first named the city of Salzburg, Iuvavum.  The origin of salt mining began over 7000 years ago and played a significant part in making Salzburg a powerful trading community. A 60 minute drive from the city to the Dürrnberg plateau above Hallein, takes you to the world's oldest, accessible salt mine The Hallein Salt Mine, also known as Salzbergwerk Dürrnberg, where you discover how this "white gold" was processed. The Old Salt Works, an austere quadrangle of buildings, with the main pumping hall and the magnificent spring works chapel, is a Neo-Roman style treasure. The salt minerals deposited in the water around Salzburg also have many healing properties  which modern science is only just beginning to understand. This has also increased the prosperity of the region as a medicinal spa destination.

The Hohensalzburg Castle

In 1077 work on the Hohensalzburg Castle began, the eye-catching fortress high above the baroque towers of the city. A highly visible landmark & unmistakable part of the silhouette of Salzburg.

Salzburg through the ages

During the 14th century the plague killed nearly one third of Salzburg's population. Later that same century Salzburg also became an independant entity within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1492 the Stiegl Brewery was founded, it still remains one of Salzburg′s top-attractions. During the 17th and 18th century Salzburg flourished, the wealth from the salt trade transforming it into one of the world′s most outstanding baroque city with magnificent palaces, churches and gardens. In 1816, Salzburg finally became part of Austria and in 1920 the Salzburg Festival was founded

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791)

In 1756 Salzburg′s most famous son was born: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart, the youngest of seven children became one of the most prolific and influential composers of the Classical era despite his short life. Many people believe that Mozart was told to leave Salzburg and that the city disowned him, the truth however is quite different
 9 Getreidegasse, Salzburg ~ where Mozart was born

As a small child Mozart and his elder sister, Maria Anna (1751–1829), both incredibly musically talented on the keyboard and violin, toured Europe entertaining royalty and the elite as representatives of Salzburg. These brilliant young stars worked hard and were rewarded with royal like treatment and luxurious acommodation wherever they went. Mostly financed by the church, their lives were very controlled. As a young man of 17, Mozart had tired of this obligation, especially having to compose for the church and left Salzburg escaping to Vienna.
Mozart's mother's birth place in St Gilgen. Situated in the Lake District near Salzburg where Mozart's sister, Maria Anna, moved to.

Mozart continued to be very successful in Vienna but lived a very opulent and lavish lifestyle, especially after his marriage. He died a young man and relatively broke. When his wife, Constanze remarried it was she and her second husband who marketed Mozart, ensuring that he was interred back in Salzburg and that his incredible talent was never forgotten. Mozart composed over 600 works and remains on of the  most enduringly popular classical composers. His influence on music is profound, Beethoven composed his own early works in Mozart's shadow, and Joseph Haydn wrote that "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years."

Salzburg Today

Salzburg remains a delight to visit, despite inclement weather! Immersed in history and a magical atmosphere, with grand squares, cathedrals and stately buildings. Its' bustling, tiny streets leading to all sorts of delights! This florist was down a tiny, cobbled alley way just off of Getreidegasse, in the old part of Salzburg.
Getreidegasse (also known as Grain Lane) in Old Salzburg is a charming, narrow street full of tall, tightly grouped houses, courtyards, passageways and busy shops. The carefully crafted, wrought-iron guild signs hanging above making you feel you have stepped into a fairytale.


Originally a main Roman thoroughfare and then an important merchant and retail center. Today there still strict rules about what is allowed in the Getreidegasse, especially the signs which were controlled by the local guilds. This is one of the most photographed, maybe you recognize it!

A delicious, traditional Austrian dinner in this vibrant thirteenth century restaurant

As a final adieu to Salzburg, The Sound of Music needs one more mention. Contrary to what many people may believe, very little was allowed to be filmed in the city. Memories of World War II  were raw and loomed large in people's minds. Although the mayor gave his permission for filming when the locals of Salzburg heard that their would be Nazi swastikas and 'Nazi soldiers' strutting in their beloved city there was a public outrage. Consequently all that was allowed to be filmed was the 'do-re mi' song in the Mirabell Park Gardens, where the children and Maria copied the statues' poses, looking a little grey on a wet and dismal early March morning! All the other scenes were shot outside the city limits although Salzburg will be forever remembered as the home of the cherished Von Trapps and their incredible story.

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'The Sound of Music' is arguably one of the most beloved musicals of all time, certainly one of mine! It is based on the true story of the Von Trapp family in Salzburg, Austria during the rise of Nazi Europe. For over 35 years it has been possible to tour many of the locations where this movie was filmed in 1964. We took this Panorama excursion with some misgivings but it proved to be a wonderful history lesson of the Salzburg area and an opportunity to visit some of the breathtaking scenery which had inspired the writers of the film. As those legendary songs warmed my heart for the millionth time I felt compelled to share what I had learned and the real story of this charming and talented family.

Maria Augusta Kutschera was born on a train headed for the hospital in Vienna on January 26^th 1905. By the age of seven she had been tragically orphaned, she suffered a strict and lonely upbringing with her father’s elderly, atheist, cousin and was discouraged to have any religious convictions. She was a bright girl and developed a great love of music. However, during a Bach concert in the college where was she training to be a teacher, a chance meeting with a Jesuit Priest changed her views forever. Once she had qualified as a teacher she entered Nonnberg Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Salzburg, as a postulant intending to become a nun.
Nonnberg Abbey, Salzburg


Meanwhile, true to the film, Georg Von Trapp, a retired Austrian Navy Captain and national hero from World War I (Austria had owned Croatia up until WWI, where their navy had been based) had been left a widower with 7 children, after his wife had died of scarlet fever in 1922. The devastated family had moved to Salzburg to try to begin a new life. When one of his daughters fell ill, he appealed to the Nonnberg Convent for help and they sent Maria. So unlike the film's portrayal, Maria's position was not as a governess to all the children but just to Georg’s bedridden daughter.
Leopoldskron Palace, shown at the top of the page  ~ some exterior scenes were filmed here but being owned by a wealthy Jewish family and it being so close to the end of World War II, nothing was filmed inside, although permission was given for the interior to be photographed and to recreated in Hollywood.

The second house where exterior shots were filmed, eg: pushing the car to flee the Nazis

The real Maria, just as in the film, fell in love with the children, although unlike in the film they were already musical, Maria enhanced their skills by teaching them to sing madrigals.
The 'I am 16...' Pavillion ~ originally in the garden of the Leopoldskron Palace, now in the grounds of Hellbrunn Palace. In the film, the actual dance was performed on a set, although this pavillion was used for the exteriors.

The real Maria was not initially in love with Georg, but wishing to escape convent life she agreed to marry him in 1927 and in fact grew to love him very dearly. They were married in Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg. In the film version their Wedding was not allowed to be shot at the Abbey so was filmed in St Michael’s Church, Mondsee. Mondsee, east of Salzberg is in Austria’s stunning Lake District which also inspired the title of the film and much of the music.
St Michael’s Church, Mondsee.

Georg and Maria went on to have 3 children together and were very happy. Married ten years earlier than the film depicts, they did not immediately flee Austria from the Nazis but attempted to make a living singing throughout Europe. Although Georg had been left a very wealthy man by his first wife, (whose father, Robert Whitehead, had invented the torpedo) by 1935 he had lost most of his money in the depression. Following a chance meeting with Hitler, Georg was offered a position in the Nazis' navy. However just as in the film, Georg abhorred the Nazis, so the family fled Austria to make a new life in USA singing. They eventually settled in Stowe, Vermont, where they continued to tour as a musical group eventually establishing an Austrian style lodge Trapp Family Lodge. still in existence today.
Maria wrote her story  The Story of the Trapp Family Singers  in 1949 which was first made into a German film in 1956 Die Trapp-Famille. The film was a success although never shown in USA. Unfortunately Maria had been persuaded to sell her rights to her story, for about $10,000 when this film was made so she never received any income from the Sound of Music.
 After the Sound of Music won 5 Oscars, Maria was paid a nominal token of about $9000, so despite the millions the film generated the family's financial difficulties continued. However, the Von Trapps held no serious animosity against the Sound of Music. The children, whose names were all changed in the film, were sad that their father had initially been portrayed as a cold-hearted patriarch, when in fact he loved singing and was a very warm-hearted and loving father. They also felt the film trivialized their singing for in reality they were more serious.

The Real Von Trapp Family Singers Maria did meet Julie Andrews and all the children met their Sound of Music siblings in a 1998 reunion. Maria von Trapp died on March 28 1987 and was interred in the family cemetery at the Trapp Family Lodge.  It is very sad that the real family were unable to reap any finanacial reward from The Sound of Music, especially given its enduring, global success and popularity. At the time of the Berlin Wall, it was the only foreign movie allowed to be shown in Russia.

Even if it does stray a little from reality, it's stunning scenery, beautiful music and heart warming story have made it a much loved family favourite for generations to come.

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Sometimes, however much we have read or seen, it is impossible to be prepared for seeing the real thing. A visit to Vienna's Spanish Riding School was such an experience. The magnificent baroque auditorium, within the old Imperial Hofburg Palace, was more like the inside of a grand opera or church. Admiring the skill and discipline of the trainers from pirouettes to caprioles and then finally the lipizzaners themselves, one almost had to pinch oneself to believe that these were actually horses performing this breathtaking ballet performance, and I was only watching the practice! For over 440 years these incredible horses have been trained as the school has cultivated classical equitation in the Renaissance tradition of the haute école.
The exquisite Winter Riding School, where the lipizzaners perform, is a sunlight flooded hall in soft shades of white and beige and grey, built between 1729 ~1735.

Practice at the Spanish Riding School, a magnificent baroque auditorium

An impressive portrait of Emperor Charles VI, who commissioned its construction, hangs above the royal box and opposite the entrance to which the riders always salute before they ride. The building was originally built for young aristocrtas to take riding instruction although there has been a riding school here since 1572. Moreover its antecedents in military traditions date as far back as Xenophon in Ancient Greece.

The Spanish Riding School is named for the Spanish horses that formed one of the bases of the Lipizzan breed, used exclusively at the school. Today the horses delivered to the Spanish Riding School are bred at the Piber Federal Stud located near the village of Piber in western Styria, Austria. One of the original studs used to develop the breed was Lipizza, now called Lipica, near Triestein modern Slovenia, which gave its name to the breed.

An actual performance

The objective of classical equitation is to study the way the horse naturally moves and to cultivate the highest levels of elegance the horse is capable of through systematic training. The result creates an unparalleled harmony between rider and horse, men literally waltzing on horse back! Click to watch one of their incredible performances. Whilst visiting Vienna it is something not to be missed!

The crest of the Spanish Riding School

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Vienna, Austria, the heart of classical music and the inspiration for unbelievable musical talent, composers such as Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert and Strauss, to name but a few. As the home of the Habsburgs, one of the most important royal houses of Europe, Vienna was a city of extreme wealth, power and prestige. Today it is still magnificent and host to many major international organizations including the United Nations and OPEC. Palaces might now by museums and a global empire totally scattered but it’s musical heritage waltzes along its fine avenues and the legacy of this great city lives on.
This delightful ‘City of Music’ has also been called the ‘City of Dreams’ being home to the world's first psycho-analyst - Sigmund Freud. However music and the arts is what mostly springs to mind when one thinks of Austria's Vienna

Vienna's story began long ago. It was first settled alongside the breathtaking River Danube by the Celts in 500 BC and grew to became an important Roman city.

Roman Ruins in Vienna today

It eventually the capital of the Holy Roman Empire (1483/1806) and a cultural centre for arts and science, music and fine cuisine. Even today its street 'Cafés' look more like grand restaurants and they are famous for their pastries, tortes and of course delicious apple strudels!

 A Viennese Café
Just before Easter the windows of the chocolatiers were full of spectacular temptations!

The Hofburg -  The former imperial residence in Vienna, the statue of Emperor Franz Joseph wielding his sword!

The Hofburg at night

Vienna is rich in a fine ensemble of architecture, palaces, Baroque castles, cathedrals gardens, monuments and parks...

Vienna's Parliament Buildings

Statue of Empress Marie Theresa - the mother of Marie Antoinette, her 16th and youngest child

Vienna has been voted as one world’s most desirable places to live attracting 5 million visitors annually.
A Viennese church

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Finally, a trip to Vienna would not be complete without a visit to its world renowned Spanish Riding School

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