Fortress Hohensalzburg towers majestically over Salzburg. A photo tour

"A landmark visible from afar, Fortress Hohensalzburg towers majestically over the rooftops of the city of Salzburg. Within its historic walls, you can experience times long past up close: behind every archway is a piece of history. Every room tells exciting stories. Fates are hidden behind every coat of arms. Fortress Hohensalzburg has grown since the 11th C to become one of the largest castle complexes in Central Europe, covering an area of 32,000 m²".

I should actually start in the right way by showing how we arrived at the plaza and then the funicular station to go up. But, the view at the top Is so spectacular that I just had to give you a 360 Deg tour first. 

There wasn’t much of a queue at the funicular. It was a rather steep ride which took a few minutes. It has always surprised me that in olden times, for security and reliious purposes, mankinbd built churches, monasteries and forts in the most difficult and steep / high, often mountainous, places. They did it without any modern tools. Was there the concept of an architect in those days? What was he called? How did he operate and what facilities were available to him. I recall seeing in a Vienna palace museum how they built it and I have a blog on it too.

At the top of the funicular, there is a courtyard and then to the side of a huge wall, steps lead upto the top of the fort. A restaurant has been strategically placed there so it’s a money spinner. At the lower level, you realize the thickness of the walls and the immenseness of the whole fort in tems of space, size and height. Everything is immense and even after so many years and World Wars, damage seems to have been minimal. 

Inside the castle, there are many rooms. There are many courtyards as is to be expected view the different persona staying there. There is a museum which is interesting. One part has a whole set of showcases where life in those times is depicted.

In another room, there are various armaments worn in those days and here we see an interactive display with my face in the helmet !! That’s what I would have been like then. 

In the lower courtyard, there was a guy playing an instrument which is just like the santoor. Look closely….same thin spatula type tongs in his hands. Further inwards, a large chess board, human size for chidren and also a huge golden globe.

When you think about it, the Castle is like a city state in its own right. Its inner courtyards, the many apartments and rooms which we visitors are not allowed to see / visit, the hundreds of staff who must be employed in olden times and even now to keep the establishment operational. Quite a feat. 

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A pictorial walk through Salzburg's Dom Quartier and other areas

Salzburg has managed to preserve an extraordinarily rich urban fabric, developed over the period from the Middle Ages to the 19th century when it was a city-state ruled by a prince-archbishop. Its flamboyant Gothic art attracted many craftsmen and artists before the city became even better known through the work of the Italian architects Vincenzo Scamozzi and Santini Solari, to whom the centre of Salzburg owes much of its Baroque appearance. This meeting-point of northern and southern Europe perhaps sparked the genius of Salzburg’s most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose name has been associated with the city ever since. 

It contains a number of buildings, both secular and ecclesiastical, of very high quality from periods ranging from the late Middle Ages to the 20th Century.  There is a clear separation, visible on the ground and on the map, between the lands of the Prince-Archbishops and those of the burghers. The former is characterized by its monumental buildings - the Cathedral, the Residence, the Franciscan Abbey, the Abbey of St Peter - and its open spaces, the Domplatz in particular. The burghers' houses, by contrast, are on small plots and front onto narrow streets, with the only open spaces provided by the three historic markets. Salzburg is rich in buildings from the Gothic period onwards, which combine to create a townscape and urban fabric of great individuality and beauty.

 

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com