Salzburg - probably one of the prettiest places on earth and chockfull of culture to boot. Perched serenely on the border of Austria and Germany and against the stunning backdrop of the Alps, the city is synonymous with music.
And not just for the Von Trapp family and the much beloved 1965 classic film The Sound of Music. Long before the Captain and Maria, Salzburg was first and foremost the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Those eager to experience a little bit of classical music history will delight in the sights, sounds and experiences the picturesque city has to offer.
Mozart’s Birthplace & the Mozart Residence
A Google search of “Mozart’s house Salzburg” can be a bit confusing as there are two separate addresses where the composer lived and both are museums. The one with the yellow façade, located at Getreidegasse 9, is “Mozarts Geburtshaus”, or Mozart’s Birthplace. About a fifteen-minute walk away, at Makartplatz 8, is a pink building known as Mozart’s Residence.
This latter home is where the Mozarts moved in 1773 to allow more room for their family. Wolfgang was 17 at the time and lived here for eight years. Sadly the building was mostly destroyed when it was struck by a bomb during the Second World War in October 1944. The International Mozarteum Foundation eventually purchased the property in 1989 and a few years later began reconstructing the building according to old plans. The Mozart Residence as it is today was opened to the public in 1996. The exhibition contains biographies of family members, original documents, and even Wolfgang’s fortepiano and the Mozart family portrait.
While a visit to both sites is a must, it is the Mozart Geburtshaus that holds much of the emotion. First opened as a museum by the aforementioned International Mozarteum Foundation in 1880, visitors walk through the rooms inhabited by the Mozart family for 26 years, including that in which Wolfgang was born on January 27, 1756. Expanded over the years, the exhibit now comprises three floors and boasts such treasures as a lock of the composer’s hair, several personal effects, his childhood violin and the clavichord he used while composing many of his works, including The Magic Flute.
For more information on both museums, including hours and admission prices, check out the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation.
Mozart Dinner Concert
For around 50 Euro you can enjoy a selection of arias, duets and overtures by the Amadeus Consort in a candlelit Baroque hall complete with a three-course dinner prepared according to recipes of the 18th century.
And just what does a three-course dinner from the 18th century consist of?
First off is a cream soup with lemon and a rosemary dumpling. This is followed by roasted chicken on a port wine glace served with a potato-pumpkin dumpling, semolina strudel and vegetables from the monastery garden. Dessert is a semi-frozen parfait of honey, placed daintily over a profile of Mozart created out of cocoa powder and decorated with fresh strawberries. Delicious.
This charming nightly event is held in the oldest restaurant in Europe, Stiftskeller St. Peter, whose history dates back to 803. To put this in perspective, the Mozart family dined here when it was already almost a thousand years old. Part of the Benedictine monastery, the atmosphere inside and out is simply beautiful.
For more information and to check availability, have a look at Mozart Dinner Concert.
Mozartkugeln
Even if you have zero interest in the history or music of Mozart, a visit to Salzburg is incomplete if you don’t leave with a bag of these signature chocolates. Literally “Mozart balls”, Mozartkugeln were created in the late 19th century by Paul Fürst, a Salzburg confectioner. Fürst fashioned a pistachio marzipan ball and then layered it with nougat and a dark chocolate coating. 120 years later, these little round treats wrapped in foil bearing the face of Mozart are still an extremely popular Austrian souvenir.
Although any shop in the city will carry infinite versions of this famous chocolate, the best place to buy Mozartkugeln is, of course, at the Fürst confectionery shop, where they are still handmade according to the original recipe.
Ramona Zacharias - Ramona has been a freelance writer for ten years, focusing on arts, entertainment and pop culture, with a more recent dabbling in travel. ...
