Travel guide: Salzburg  

The Salzburg Zoo is a special highlight. The owners are rightfully proud of the way the animals are kept... in their natural environment: approximately 140 native and exotic species (approx. 800 animals) are kept in outdoor enclosures similar to natural surroundings which cover 35 acres (14 ha). The new South America House opened in spring 2007. It provides an insight into the diversity of the fauna in South America's rain forest, with poison dart frogs, piranhas, skull monkeys and golden-headed lion tamarins. Three flying griffon vultures are a special attraction for bird lovers. Many of the animals only become active at dusk in the hot month of August. If you want to observe a snow leopard searching for food or an otter playing during this time, it is best to visit the zoo on a Friday or Saturday evening. more

A walk through the Salzburg Open Air Museum next to the gates of Salzburg reveals six centuries of rural... decor in the Salzburg countryside. Mills and blacksmiths, a village school, a brewery, and many large and small farmhouses are dotted along the 4.3 mi (7 km) long network of paths. Demonstrations of ancient artisan skills regularly take place during the summer, while traditional markets, folk events and folk music performances liven up the museum. Cows, horses and sheep graze in the paddocks which are fenced in using historical fence-building techniques. The ponds and streams make use of historical forms of propulsion technology. The tractor exhibition in the ‘Krallerhof’ wows adults and children alike. The exhibition in the Abraham courtyard provides visitors with a glimpse of life in the remote world of Lungau. The 12-minute multivision show ‘Museum Views’ point out the most remarkable details in the museum. more

Numerous prehistoric tools and mountains of jewelry, including an amber necklace and a necklace made... from large, finely crafted golden spheres, were found in the settlements and graves of the Celts on the Dürrnberg plateau. Today, these remains of settlements and graves can be marveled at in the Celtic Museum in Hallein, which is well worth seeing. The Celts lived as traders on the Dürrnberg plateau from 500 BCE to 70 CE. They traded salt and cured meat for grain and other essential items. Amber and coral are evidence of trade routes, which stretched all the way to the Baltic Sea and far off to the south. The ‘Silent Night Museum’, located in the former residence of composer Franz Gruber (daily, 3 pm to 5 pm), is also worth a visit. Gruber’s home and an interesting collection inform visitors about the history of Silent Night. When taking a walk from the Celtic Museum through the beautiful historic center to the Silent Night Museum, a visit to Café Braun (Unterer Markt 8) to try out the best pralines and cake in the Tennengau region should not be missed. more

No salt has been mined in the Hallein salt mine since the 1950s, which now dedicates itself entirely... to visitors of the mine. As early as 500 BC, the Celts were mining salt underground on the Dürrnberg plateau. Nowadays, visitors can take a guided tour of a 1.5 mi (2.5 km) section of the 8 mi (13 km) long network of tunnels. Using the mining railroad, visitors travel into the interior of the mountain before being carried down to the tunnel entrances via a steep wooden slide. Display boards and lectures inform guests about the mine, the lives of the people that lived there and its beginnings as a tourist attraction. With the help of his attendant Jakobus vom Dürrnberg, Prince-Bishop Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau talks about his life and the importance of the salt at four film points along the way. Visitors float on a raft over a salt lake into a former salt mine, all the while accompanied by a light show and music. A reconstructed Celtic village at the entrance of the salt mine leads guests on a journey from the origins of the mine around 2,500 years ago to the Middle Ages. more

Studying the history of the development of a picture is a very unique way of examining a great work.... The Salzburg Baroque Museum has the only exhibition in Europe, which only deals with sketches of Baroque paintings. Consequently, only plans and sketches of the corresponding originals hang there. The museum is housed in the south wing of the former Orangerie in the Mirabellgarten (Mirabell garden). Sketches from the 17th and 18th century are exhibited here. World-famous artists such as Tiepolo, Rubens, Cortona, Bernini and Algardi can be found as well as locally important masters such as Altomonte and Rottmayer. Johann Michael Rottmayer and Martino Altomonte are considered the founders of a separate style of Baroque painting in Austria. For example, Altomonte painted the ceiling fresco in Unteren Belvedere in Vienna, and the ceiling fresco in the Dreifaltigkeitskirche in Salzburg is by Rottmayer. more