Salzburg, the City of Salt

I had a couple of days off and decided to take a day tour of Salzburg.  It was quite a long day starting out at 6:30 a.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m. but well worth the trip.  

The name Salzburg means city of salt or river of salt and was not part of Austria until 1816.  It was originally a city state ruled by wealthy prince archbishops.  The city would be handed down through political moves from one archbishop to the next, not inherited by royalty.  

View of the Hohensalzburg fortress from the village below

Salzburg is the quintessential Austrian village with preserved baroque architecture spread beneath the massive Hohensalzburg fortress, but probably most known as the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  

Mozart moved to this house after his birth

I only had a short time in the city and would have like to stay overnight to attend one of the grand opera's the city presents during the summer.  Instead I listened to the various street musicians playing along the decorated alleys in the village.

Of course, Salzburg wouldn't be complete with the Sound of Music tours that our guide said is one of the biggest money makers for the city.  The sculpture below was used in the film when 'Maria and the children are caught playing' but the actual house the film used was out of town.  The University of Salzburg (also called the Paris Lodron University) is not only known for the arts but also medicine and the law.

Sculpture from Sound of Music

View of the village from the University side

I felt Salzburg was much like Prague in beauty but also in tourist type of attractions and expense.  The city obviously caters to tourists and is quite pricey.

I will place other photos from the village on my Facebook page if you're interested, please take a look.  As always feedback is really helpful.

I start teaching next week so my time will be limited for travel.  My posts will concentrate more on ESL but I will have the weekends for day trips.