Austria
Salzburg is an Austrian city on the border of Germany, with views of the Eastern Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and is internationally renowned for its baroque architecture. It is the 4th largest city in Austria.
It was also the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Salzburg Hauptbahnhof – main train station
The Getreidegasse is Salzburg’s most famous shopping street. The wrought iron guild signs hanging overhead depict the business name
Salzburg Cathedral
Salzburg Cathedral is the seventeenth-century Baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg, dedicated to St. Rupert and St. Vergilius. St. Rupert founded the church in 774 on the remnants of a Roman town. The cathedral was rebuilt in 1181 after a fire.[7]
This gentleman was in a Minuteman uniform on his way to the September 11th parade in Salzburg.
Hohensalzburg Fortress is located on the Festungsberg mountain, high above the Baroque historical district. The biggest fully preserved castle in Central Europe.
The History of Hohensalzburg Fortress – In the year 1077, archbishop Gebhard had the fortress built and the skyline of Salzburg changed forever. In the years which followed, his successors drove ongoing development of the fortress architecture. The complex acquired the appearance we recognize today under archbishop Leonhard von Keutshach in 1500. The original purpose of the fortress was to protect the principality and the archbishops from hostile attacks. In all of these years, it has never been captured by foreign troops.
Outside perimeter of Hohensalzburg
One of the cannons in position
Castle chapel
There’s a small pyramid made of cannonballs.
Look how thick the walls are. More cannons in position.
Spooky from the outside and probably spookier on the inside at night.
We watched this vibrant sunset from the castle. It just kept getting more and more beautiful.
The view from Hohensalzburg Fortress overlooking the beautiful town of Salzburg
Kirche St. Blasius – St. Blaise’s Church
Archbishop Frederick III proposed that a civic hospital be built in Salzburg in 1327. The hospital was to offer shelter for the sick and ailing. The townspeople provided food for the patients, causing it to be called the “civic hospital”. The church, built in 1330, was closely affiliated with the hospital. The church is located at the northern end of Getreidegasse.(8)
Mozarts Geburtshaus
Mozart’s Geburtshaus was the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at No. 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg. The Mozart family resided on the third floor from 1747 to 1773. Mozart himself was born here on January 27, 1756. He was the seventh child of Leopold Mozart, who was a musician of the Salzburg Royal Chamber.(9)
A Halite (salt crystal) spa
Hallstatt
Hallstatt, Austria (in the Salzkammergut region) is one of the oldest still inhabited settlements in Europe and is a UNESCO heritage site.
Hallstatt is also known for the World’s First Salt Mine and the astonishing salt caves which can be visited by tourists.
Gasthof Simony Hotel
Above – ‘Town Center’ of Hallstatt and is circular. Our hotel “Gastof Simony” was very charming. We were lucky to get the room right above “Simony” where the windows opened right onto the Town Center.
Above – Gasthof Simony – Built in the 15th century, the house was used as a theatre for the salt-producing family Wolfen. After the Wolfen stopped the trade of salt, the house became a restaurant. The big fire in 1750 that burned half of Hallstatt destroyed the first and second floor of the Simony House. The vaults of the ground floor were fortunately not damaged. In 1882, the ancestors of the Scheutz-Höplinger, the Klackl family bought the building and renovated the house turning it into a hotel. Famous explorer of the Dachstein region Friedrich Simony was a regular guest in the house of the family Klackl. To his honor, the hotel was named ‘Simonyhütte’ which was changed to Gasthof Simony later on.(10)
The Evangelical Church of Christ in the background
Well-manicured trees line the centuries-old building in the main courtyard
The Town Center
A quaint little stroll down a shady road
Above pictures – The ‘Beinhaus’ or ‘Bone House’ in St. Michael’s Chapel is a must see site in Hallstatt. The chapel dates back to the 12th century and is located next to the catholic parish church. In the 1700s, the church began digging up corpses to make way for the newly dead. Once the skeletons were exhumed and properly bleached in the sun, the family members would stack the bones next to their nearest kin.
In 1720, a tradition began of painting the skulls with symbolic decorations, as well as dates of birth and death so that the dead would be remembered, even if they no longer had a grave. Of the 1,200 skulls, some 610 of them were lovingly decorated with an assortment of symbols. The ones from the 1700s are painted with thick dark garlands, while the newer ones, from the 1800s on, are painted in brighter floral styles.(11)
Outside of the Beinhaus
The cemetery had such beauty. It was obvious everyone took great pride in taking care of their loved one’s resting place.
Rustic water fountain on St. Michaels church grounds
St. Michaels Church –
Left – Late Gothic winged altar
Top – Beautiful geometric ceiling
Right – Altar
St. Michaels chapel
Crucifix and Statues
Mountainside homes and lodging
Hallstatt lakeside – The most famous photographed spot in Hallstatt
The small castle framed by mother nature
Close up of the small castle on Lake Hallstatt
Old fountain
Neglected gate protecting the secrets of time of Hallstatt
These unique traditional boats, named “Fuhren” was once used to transport the salt which was mined from the world’s oldest salt mine in Hallstatt, over Lake Hallstatt and then continuing on the River Traun to the Danube.
Beautiful contrast of vivid red leaves framing the lake
Parish of the Assumption Catholic Church steeple
Simple beauty
Everyone who lived in the high valley worked in salt mining during the Hallstatt period. The men were responsible for driving the shafts and digging out the salt, the women carried the salt out of the mine, the children provided help as laborers and brought in a fresh supply of the fine cut pinewood that was used for lighting. Women still carried the rock salt from the high valley down to Hallstatt and were still performing this task in the last century.
Entry to Salt Mine
A ‘staged’ miner on display in the mine
In 1838, workers found a pick made of staghorn from the Neolithic Age dating back to 5,000 BC. This makes Salzwelten the oldest salt mine in the World at over 7,000 years old. During the 1800’s, there were more discoveries at the mine. In 1833, Master Miner Johann Georg Ramsauer (1795-1874) found the Hallstatt miners burial ground. He was the first to begin systematic archaeological digs at the prehistoric burial ground in Hallstatt located near the eastern exit of the salt mine. He opened a total of 980 graves in the years between 1848 and 1863. An enormous volume of documentation exists on his excavations including detailed records of the digs themselves plus descriptions of the graves uncovered with the inclusion of many watercolors illustrating the graves and the archaeological finds. The earliest Iron Age period in Europe that flourished between about 800 and 400BC has been given the name Hallstatt Culture after these finds. Other important archaeologists who followed in the footsteps of Ramsauer include Isidor Engl, Josef Szombathy and Friedrich Morton and since the end of the 20th century the Natural History Museum of Vienna. This major collection of finds from Hallstatt that gave a name to an epoch was moved to the Natural History Museum in Vienna at the end of the 19th century. Smaller collections are housed in the Museum Franciso-Carolinum in Linz and the local museum in Hallstatt. The number of excavated graves reached 1500 in 2007, but it is conjectured that there are some 5000 burials in the grounds. The entire population is represented in the burials, from new born babies to the very old. Roughly half of the dead were buried in a standard inhumation and half were first cremated and the remains were then buried.
Weekend familes – The way to work was long and exhausting. The workers came on foot from Hallstatt, Gosau, Goisern and Obertraun. During the working week they were put up in the high valley to save time traveling. The miners in the miner house, the cutters in the cutter house, the foremen of the miners in the foreman house. They only stayed with their families on Sundays. Starting a family was regulated by the authorities, they had to ask for permission to marry at the salt office.
We went for a hike and it was absolutely beautiful. The greenery, flowers, goats, mountains, and signs posted along the way providing information about the town and its people throughout time. I was particularly fascinated by the story of St. Barbara and have posted it further down.
Right picture – During their work, the stone keepers lived in this hut, the remains of which are still visible. Their job was to keep the cliffs and slopes free of loose rocks to protect the people in Hochtal from dangerous rock falls. This is an ancient safety service that is still performed today on important transport routes and in busy places.
Saint Barbara is the patron saint of miners. The legend says that her father locked her in a tower for three years because she converted to Christianity and that she was baptized there against his will. Because of this, her father cut her head off with his own hands and immediately afterwards he was struck down by lightning and killed. Saint Barbara lived to be 29 years old. This is commemorated in the traditional miners’ uniform with its 29 buttons, three of which must always be kept open.
This picture was posted on our hike. It is St. Barbara
‘Off the beaten path’
‘The long and winding road’
We came across these guys on our hike. They didn’t seem to care we were watching them.
I fell in love while in Europe! I think he’s checking me out.
The beauty we found in nature. Some expected and some unexpected places
Leaving the beautiful town of Halstatt heading towards Attnang-Puchheim train station to catch an overnight train to Venice. Boy, are we in for a surprise!
Auf Wiedersehen Austria und danke schön. Es war wunderbar!
