Salzburg

Salzburg is often referred as “the Rome of the North” and Austrian Venice for its unique architecture and atmosphere. Until 1816 Salzburg was an independent city-state and not part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was ruled by very ambitious prince-archbishops. This explains the strong Italian influence in the architecture and layout of this magnificent city. Its baroque looks and feels are considered unique and are often referred as the quintessence of today's Austria. When visiting this compact city we recommend to be aware of the many (more than 4000 per year) cultural events that take place in Salzburg. Being the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the city is giving its appreciation to this exceptional man with numerous musical festivals and performances throughout the year, with one of them the world-famous Salzburger Festspiele (Salzburg Festival), the third-oldest on the European continent, started 1920. The landmarks of Salzburg are concentrated mainly in the UNESCO World Heritage old town of the city with all the remarkable churches, mansions and museums of it placed there. On the outskirts of the city is the other of Salzburg’s top attractions - Hellbrunn Castle with its water gardens, famous from the movie “The Sound of Music”. Other interesting spots are the Toy Museum, the Salzburger Freilichtsmuseum (Open-Air Museum) and Hangar 7 (striking glass structure housing Dietrich Mateschitz's Flying Bulls collection of historic aircraft). And don't forget - there are tons more of attractions, activities and interesting places to see in the city of Salzburg, visit them and write here at HolidayStreets.com about their beauty and mystery!