Hi, I'm Rick Steves,
back with more of the best of Europe.
This time, we're in the land of Mozart.
It's Salzburg.
Thanks for joining us.
Salzburg is forever smiling
to the tunes of Mozart and the "Sound of Music."
Thanks to its charming Old Town,
splendid Baroque churches,
one of Europe's largest medieval fortresses,
and so many great places nearby,
Salzburg feels designed to keep its visitors happy.
In Salzburg we'll explore its delightful old town,
enjoy Mozart in a palace,
and relax in a sun-dappled beer garden.
Then we'll settle into a farmhouse B&B,
survive a mountain luge run,
and cruise to one of the jewels
of Austria's Lake District.
Sitting in the center of Europe is Austria.
From our home base in Salzburg, we side-trip
into the Salzkammergut Lake District --
Lake Hallstatt,
and the town by the same name.
Salzburg is steeped in history.
In the year 700, its Bavarian rulers gave control of Salzburg
to the local bishop in return for his promise
to defend and expand Christianity in the area.
Salzburg remained an independent state for over a thousand years,
until it surrendered to Napoleon.
Thanks to its formidable fortress
and its knack for remaining neutral,
the city managed to avoid the ravages of war
until World War II.
While much of the new part of town --
on the far side of the river --
was destroyed by World War II bombs,
the historic Old Town survived.
The New Town has
the big business and train station,
but the Old Town, sitting between
the Salzach River and a hill called Mönchsberg,
holds nearly all the charm and most of the tourists.
With around eight million visitors
prowling its cobbled lanes each year,
Salzburg can feel pretty touristy.
You don't go to Salzburg to avoid the tourists.
You go to experience a town which, in spite of its crowds,
is thoroughly enjoyable.
Most of the happy tourists probably wouldn't be here
if not for the man honored by this statue.
Wolfgang Mozart spent
much of his first 25 years in Salzburg --
one of the greatest Baroque cities north of the Alps.
For centuries, Salzburg's leaders were both
important church authorities and political rulers.
They were "prince-archbishops,"
combining both political and religious power.
The energetic Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich,
who ruled around the year 1600,
had the greatest impact on the town.
Wolf Dietrich was raised in Rome,
counted the powerful Medicis in Florence as his buddies,
and had grandiose Italian ambitions for Salzburg.
His goal -- to build "the Rome of the North."
This square, with its striking cathedral
and Italian-style palace,
was the centerpiece of his Baroque dream city.
A series of interconnecting squares
lead from here through the Old Town.
This fountain could be straight out of Italy.
The Triton matches Bernini's famous Triton Fountain in Rome.
Lying on a busy trade route
connecting northern Europe with the south,
Salzburg was well aware
of the exciting things going on in Italy.
Things Italian were respected and in vogue.
Some Northern artists even Italianized their names
in order to raise their rates.
Salzburg's cathedral, constructed in the early 1600s,
was one of the first grand Baroque buildings
north of the Alps.
It's Sunday morning.
The 10:00 mass is famous for its music,
and today it's Mozart.
Enter the cathedral,
and you're immersed in pure Baroque grandeur.
♪ Dona nobis ♪
♪ nobis pacem ♪
Since it was built in only about 15 years,
the church boasts particularly harmonious art and architecture.
In good Baroque style, the art is symbolic,
cohesive, and theatrical,
creating a kind of festival procession
that leads to the resurrected Christ
triumphing high above the altar.
♪ Nobis ♪
♪ dona nobis ♪
♪ nobis pacem ♪
♪ pacem ♪
Music and the visual art complement each other.
The organ loft fills the church with glorious sounds
as Mozart, 250 years
after his birth, is still powering worship
with his musical genius.
♪ Nobis ♪
♪ nobis pacem ♪
♪ nobis ♪
♪ pacem ♪♪
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
who was the cathedral organist for two years,
was born in this house in 1756.
It was here that he composed most of his boy-genius works.
For fans, it's almost a pilgrimage.
But his later residence, the Mozart Wohnhaus,
across the river, offers a better exhibition
on his life and times.
The place is filled
with scores of scores,
portraits,
insights into his family life
and how the young prodigy
was basically home-schooled his hard-driving father.
The Mozart family was successful enough
to entertain Salzburg's high society in this fine room.
This family portrait shows Mozart with his sister --
he was proud of his first-ever compositions for four hands --
his father, also a fine musician and composer,
and his mother, who died two years earlier in Paris.
Nannerl called this portrait
the best ever done of her brother.
Mozart spent a good part of his childhood on the road,
performing all over Europe.
But throughout his youth, he called Salzburg home.
When he was 25 he was ready for the big city
and moved to Vienna.
Today, Salzburg's pride in Mozart shows itself best
not in museums but in live concerts.
Salzburg is a world-class destination
for live musical performances.
Each summer it hosts its famous Salzburg Festival.
But Salzburg is busy all year long,
with over 2,000 live performances
in churches and palaces like this.
We're heading into the Mirabell Palace
to hear a string quartet play in a splendid Baroque hall.
Mozart performed
for the prince-archbishop right here.
And this evening
the twins quartet from Moscow
play Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik."
The surrounding Mirabell Gardens, laid out in 1730,
are a favorite with locals and tourists alike.
Enjoying the garden, cathedral, castle view,
it's easy to imagine how the prince-archbishop
must have reveled in such a vista
that reminded him of all his secular
as well as religious power.
The Hohensalzburg Fortress
towers 400 feet above the Salzach River.
One of Europe's mightiest castles,
it dominates Salzburg's skyline.
Access is quick and easy from the Old Town by funicular.
Its cannons evoke both threats of centuries past
and the power of Salzburg's rulers.
The courtyard was the main square
of this hilltop community of a thousand --
which could be self-sufficient when necessary.
The well dipped into a rain-fed cistern.
The square was ringed by blacksmiths,
bakers, and craftsmen.
Imagine how expensive this massive fortress was to build,
and it was never really used in battle.
That was the idea.
The guys who paid for it would say it was a good investment --
so foreboding, nobody attacked Salzburg
for a thousand years.
Its ramparts provide the best views of the city.
Surveying the town,
you can imagine Salzburg through the ages.
From the castle, take a stroll
across the forested Mönchsberg Hill
for a breezy respite from the city
and more commanding views.
Set your sights on the spire of the Augustinian Church,
and you'll find what seems like half of Salzburg
feasting and drinking.
Those Augustinians must have been
the most popular monks in town
for their rollicking beer garden.
Austria specializes in a knack for conviviality.
And in Salzburg,
there's no better place to experience that than here
at the Augustiner Bräustübl.
On balmy summer evenings, this brewery
has the ambiance of a Renoir painting,
as all generations gather under the chestnut trees
as they have for centuries
to enjoy cheap food,
good beer,
and that special local coziness,
called "Gemütlichkeit."
It's self-service.
Peruse the food stalls.
No shortage of meats,
kraut, and salads.
And the "Steckerlfisch" --
now that's my kind of fish stick!
Getting a beer is fun in itself.
Buy your token, choose a mug.
Two choices -- big and huge.
Give it a rinse --
and fill 'er up.
As is often the case in rowdy European eateries like this,
you share tables
and make new friends.
Old Salzburg's busy and colorful main drag
was and still is Getreidegasse.
Amidst all the tourists and chain outlets,
its classy shops
and traditional wrought-iron signs
give it a touch of elegance.
Pondering the old-time signs --
which were advertising back in the days
when most shoppers couldn't read --
you can almost imagine strolling here,
looking for a sturdy pair of boots, a stylish dirndl,
or even a little schnapps.
The Sporer family has been distilling schnapps
and selling it from this friendly hole-in-the-wall
for just over a hundred years.
It's good to see how,
in the midst of all this tourism,
purely local hangouts still survive.
The regulars here know
that there are enough flavors of schnapps
to keep them coming back again and again.
"Obstler" is apple and --
apple and pear.
Okay.
And it's very typical
for this area.
So this is apple and pear?
Apple and pear, yes.
Good.
"Zum wohl!"
"Prosit!"
[ Laughing ]
Ooh, that's good.
You don't throw it down. You sip it, is that right?
You sip it, yes.
And what is schnapps?
Schnapps is distilled fruits.
So there's many different kinds of schnapps?
Yes, there are many fruits
in Austria, and we distill
almost everything.
And when is the normal time
when you would drink schnapps in Austria?
After dinner, as a "digestif,"
or you drink it beside a beer in the evening, or --
but this is after breakfast, and you're still quite busy.
[ Laughter ]
We're always busy, because we are very old,
traditional shop in the Getreidegasse.
And way back when Wolfgang
was still practicing his scales,
Salzburg's busy open-air produce market
gave farmers
the chance to sell directly to locals.
Today, the people of Salzburg are happy to pay a premium
for the reliably fresh and top-quality produce.
Austria, with its Germanic passion for quality,
is enthusiastic about organically grown
fruits and vegetables.
Public marketplaces come with fountains.
And Salzburg's are part
of this city's ingenious medieval water system.
In the 13th century,
Salzburg was plumbed with a clever canal system
which has brought water into Salzburg
from nearby hills ever since.
The stream, divided into smaller canals,
was channeled through town.
The constantly flowing water flushed out the streets,
provided fire protection, and powered factories.
It was the harnessing
of wind and water power with mills like this
that helped kick the economy into gear
and lift Europe out of what many called the "Dark Ages."
These canals powered
about a hundred water mills in Salzburg,
which were busily cranking as late as the 19th century.
Tucked away in the heart of the Old Town
and abutting the rock wall of Mönchsberg
is St. Peter's Cemetery.
The graves are a collection
of well cared for mini-gardens.
It seems each plot is lovingly tended by relatives.
That's because in Austria,
grave sites are rented, not owned.
Rent bills are sent out about every 10 years.
If no one cares enough to make the payment,
you're gone.
Iron crosses were cheaper than carved tombstones.
Rich guys' fine Renaissance-style tombs
decorate the chapel walls.
Wealthy as those guys were,
when they ran out of caring relatives,
they were dug up, shipped out,
and their fancy tombstones ended up on the wall.
Salzburg's wealth was based on salt.
Its name basically means, "salt fortress."
Its river is called the "Salzach" --
not because it's salty,
but because of the precious cargo it once carried.
Salt, so precious as a preservative
in pre-refrigerator days,
was a huge part of this region's economy,
all the way back to prehistoric times.
There were major salt mines just upstream.
Salt could be shipped from here down to the Danube and beyond.
The banks of the Salzach River --
ideal for strolling and biking --
were once medieval tow paths.
Cargo boats would float downstream
and be dragged back upstream by horse.
Today, these riverside paths are much enjoyed,
providing easy access to the surrounding countryside.
If you'd like to commune with nature
in a uniquely Austrian way,
Salzburg is the ideal jumping-off point
for spectacular countryside to the south.
It's Austria's Salzkammergut Lake District,
where "the hills are alive"
and you're surrounded by the scenic wonder
that has enthralled nature lovers
from Emperor Franz Josef to Julie Andrews.
This is "Sound of Music" country.
Idyllic and majestic, but not rugged,
it's a gentle land of lakes, forested mountains,
and storybook villages
rich in hiking and biking opportunities.
The countryside around Salzburg
has plenty of farmhouse B&Bs.
Good ones, like this one near the town of Werfen,
give you a chance
to experience the richness of Austria's rural life.
[ Horse whinnies ]
The Weissacher family rents
a couple of simple yet comfy rooms
to supplement their farm income.
They're popular with big-city families
who want the opportunity to stay on a farm,
to learn to ride,
and just get away
from the intensity of urban life.
One fun way to get a dose of nature
with a jolt of speed
is on a "Sommerrodelbahn."
Throughout the region,
ski runs earn their keep in the summer
as luge courses.
Enjoy the lake country view
as you're dragged up the mountain.
Then get set to fly.
It's simple -- push to go, pull to brake --
a treat for kids of all ages.
We're heading two hours southeast of Salzburg
to my favorite Salzkammergut town
on my favorite Salzkammergut Lake.
The tiny train station is across Lake Hallstatt
from the postcard-pretty town
by the same name -- Hallstatt.
"Stefanie," a boat,
meets each arriving train
and glides scenically
across the lake into town.
Lovable Hallstatt is a tiny town
bullied onto a ledge
between a mountain and a swan-ruled lake.
Apart from the waterfall which rips through its middle,
Hallstatt is an oasis of peace.
With the scarcity of level land,
tall homes had their front door
on the street-level top floor
and their water entrance
several floors below.
The town, which originated as a salt mining center,
is one of Europe's oldest,
going back centuries before Christ.
There was a Hallstatt before there was a Rome.
In fact, because of the salt-mining importance here
an entire age -- the Hallstatt Era,
from about 800 B.C. to 400 B.C. --
is named for this once-important spot.
If you dug under these buildings,
you'd find Roman and pre-Roman Celtic pavement stones
from the ancient and prehistoric salt depot.
This cute little village was once the salt-mining namesake
of a culture that spread from France to the Black Sea.
Back then, salt was so precious because it preserved meat,
and Hallstatt was, as its name means,
the "place of salt."
A steep funicular runs up the mountain
to Hallstatt's salt mine.
It's one of many throughout the region
that offer tours.
At the mine, visitors slip into overalls,
meet their guide,
and hike into the mountain.
While this particular tunnel dates only from 1719,
Hallstatt's mine claims to be the oldest in the world.
In the tour, you'll learn the story of salt.
Archaeologists claim that, since 7000 B.C.,
people have come here to get salt.
A brine spring sprung here, attracting Bronze Age people.
Later, miners dug tunnels to extract the salty rock,
they dissolved it into a brine,
which flowed through miles of pipes,
the oldest hewn out of logs, to Hallstatt
and nearby towns, where the brine was,
and still is,
cooked until only the salt remained.
A highlight is riding miner-style
from one floor down to the next,
praying for no splinters.
Through the centuries,
Hallstatt was busy with the salt trade.
Since it had no road access,
people came and went by boat.
You'll still see the traditiona "Fuhr" boats,
designed to carry heavy loads in shallow water.
Herr Alfred Lenz makes the town's traditional boats
from a 200-year-old design.
The oar lock is still made of the gut of a bull.
Alfred claims an hour on the lake
is worth a day of vacation.
And Alfred is not the only one with that idea.
The lake is a playground
for visitors in rental boats,
which come with two speeds --
slow and stop.
Even though Hallstatt's actual sights are subtle,
wandering through town is a treat.
Pop into the fishery --
two men have a license to harvest the lake
of its plankton-fed "Reineke" fish,
much prized by local restaurants.
The town's decorative woodwork,
a tradition which dates back centuries,
reflects the wealth salt brought.
While fires have been a recurrent problem,
many houses go way back.
This one dates from 1597.
The Catholic church overlooks the town from above.
Its 500-year-old altars and frescos
feature Hallstatt's two favorite saints --
St. Barbara, patron of miners,
and St. Catherine, patron of foresters.
Lots of wood was needed
to fortify the many miles of tunnels
and boil the brine to distill out that salt.
Space in Hallstatt's well-tended graveyard
was so limited that bones had only
about 12 peaceful buried years here
before making way for the freshly dead.
Many of the dug-up bones and skulls
ended up in the bone chapel.
Each of the several hundred painted skulls
has been lovingly named, dated, and decorated.
The skulls resting on bibles are those of the town's priests.
[ Brass band plays ]
While the bone chapel is fascinating,
there's more life down on the town square.
For generations,
the traditional salt miners' band
has entertained their town.
Donate to the band,
and a maiden gives you a shot of schnapps.
Restaurant Bräugasthof,
lakeside and under a grand chestnut tree,
is just the place to try some of Lake Hallstatt's prized fish.
They're cooked up fresh and simple
and served with a nice Austrian dry white wine.
And while you await your strudel,
you can feed the swans.
Swans patrol the lake like they own it.
They're reminders of the 1800s,
when the first Romantic-age poets and painters
discovered this region.
Back then, Vienna's Habsburg royalty
made it their annual holiday retreat,
and today, it remains as delightful as ever.
I hope you've enjoyed exploring this part of Austria,
with the high culture and history of Salzburg,
and the natural splendor
of the Salzkammergut Lake District.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Rick Steves.
Until next time, keep on traveling.
"Auf Wiedersehen."