City Overview Salzburg
The surrounding mountains and the Salzach flowing through the middle of Salzburg give this Austrian city a dramatic scenery that perfectly matches its baroque splendor.
Salzburg is Austria’s third largest city and capital of the province of the same name. Due to the alpine surroundings and the historic city center, which has been part of the UNESCO cultural heritage since 1997, Salzburg is really as attractive as it is shown in the musical The Sound of Music.
As the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Salzburg still has a very rich musical life to this day, which no doubt would have made the great composer proud. The Salzburg Festival is one of the most important music festivals in the world. There are also numerous other festivals in the city. Salzburg is the setting for around 4000 cultural events per year, most of them musical. One of the most important venues is the Salzburg State Theater, in which theater and ballet plays are performed in addition to operas, operettas and musicals.
The city easily switches between the culture of the educated middle class and popular culture. While there is a touch of cosmopolitan dexterity over the elegant shops, restaurants, streets and squares of the old town, the numerous beer shops that sell locally brewed beer have a completely different but equally interesting atmosphere.
Important facts
Area code: +43 (Austria); 662 (Salzburg)
Population: 148.521
Latitude: 47.816628
Longitude: 13.048017
Weather in Salzburg
The climate in Salzburg is mostly temperate, although heavy snowfalls and low temperatures can often occur in winter (from December to March). In summer the average daily temperature is usually a pleasant 20 ° C, but in July and August the thermometer can sometimes rise very much. Due to the proximity to the Alpine region, distinctive foehn locations with warm and dry south winds are no exception.
In winter the nearby ski slopes attract, in summer the many cultural events. Salzburg has something to offer all year round.
City History of Salzburg
Salzburg’s long history goes back to the Romans. Under Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) the city developed as the Municipium Claudium Iuvavum one of the most important cities in the Roman province of Noricum. The province of Noricum was abandoned in 488 AD and a large part of the population left the city on Odoaker’s orders.
In 696 AD Bishop Rupert received the remains of the ancient Roman city from Duke Theodo II of Bavaria as a gift to serve the country in the east and southeast. He founded the St. Peter Monastery and the Benedictine Women’s Foundation Nonnberg. The name Salzburg can be seen for the first time in 755.
Around 1600, the principality was one of the richest principalities of the Roman-German empire due to salt and gold mining. Thanks to the strong will and the great visions of the famous prince archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, Salzburg already received the features we know today in the 17th century: cobblestone streets, narrow streets, elegant, quietly located squares and fabulous architecture. In 1816 the former Bavarian Salzburg fell to the Austrian Empire after the Vienna Congress.
For a relatively small city, Salzburg has a surprising number of interesting buildings, monuments, sights and attractions. The most important architectural style in the old town is baroque, but there are also many medieval, rococo and more modern buildings. The more famous sights include the magnificent cathedral, the Hohensalzburg fortress high above the city, Mozart’s birthplace in the beautiful Getreidegasse, the monastery church of St. Peter and the old residence of the Salzburg princes.
