Curious Traveler

From salt to sanctuary to Baroque beauty, covered in mountains, spires, and domes, Salzburg has so much to be curious about. Remember when you were a child, and all you asked was why, why, why? Well I never quite outgrew that whole quest for knowledge phase, in fact I've made a career out of asking who, what, where, why, and how, as an arts and travel journalist for the past 20 years. So if I have an insatiable curiosity about the exciting, inspiring beautiful world or art, architecture and hidden history all around us, I bet you do too, this isn't your typical what to do on a vacation travel show, oh no!

This is your all access pass to a deeper understanding of the world's great art and architecture, people and places, history, and how did they do that so come along on our educational journey, our field trip for grown-ups who have never quite grown up and learn on Curious Traveler. (dramatic music) From a young prodigy named Wolfgang to a melodic silent night to the legendary setting of a little Do Re Mi, the hills of Salzburg are alive with the sound of music. (gentle music) On the border of Austria in Germany is a darling, little, fairytale town full of cobblestones streets, quaint little shops, and storybook town squares, it is known for its charm and its music heritage, you might never guess that this was also once the center of a major European power. (dramatic music) Here's what I'm curious in Salzburg, Austria.

Why does Salzburg look more like Italy than Austria? What is so important about this address and this violin? Why is this giant fortress here And this giant cathedral here And this bell palace here? What does this room have to do with wigs?

Why do lederhosen have suspenders? And who was 16 going on 17 in this gazebo? So much to be curious about here in Salzburg. So let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start, the name Salzburg comes from the word salt and it was the salt mines that made this town rich, salt may seem just a simple condiment today but once upon a time, salt was as valuable as gold, in fact we get the word salary from salt as in paid in salt so it is no surprise that in Salisbury they call their salt white gold.

Everything has to do with salt, the white gold salt, the castle of salt, everything is named after salt. So that salt and some copper and gold is the reason this alpine region was settled by the ancient Celts and Romans, one of those Roman streets is still here by the way, we will stroll down it in a moment but moving on with our Salzburg history, next we get the Germanic tribes and then the Bavarians. Is anyone else craving a giant pretzel right about now, Sprinkled with Salzburg salt? Sorry, back to our timeline, next in the middle ages, Salzburg becomes part of the holy Roman empire.

This is the big difference if you compare Salzburg with Austria because we have been ruled for more than 1000 years by Roman Catholic church so it was a church district and we only turned Austria about 200 years before so that makes the difference, wherever you look here in Salzburg it's built by Italians and our nickname it's the Northern Rome the Rome out of Italy. Ah. So Salzburg becomes known as the Rome of the north or the German Rome, which is why Salzburg street plan and architecture looks more Italian than Austrian. (gentle music) So let's visit that old town and that ancient Roman road that not only runs through the center of a UNESCO world heritage site, when you stroll down it, you feel like you're in a fairytale.

(dramatic music) It doesn't get any more charming than this, a narrow, little street lined by tall townhouses dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries and windows that get smaller and smaller as you go up and curious, little arcaded passageways running through the ground floors that lead to more courtyards and more streets and many of these historic homes have plaques, marking the important dates and important former residents. This is Getreidegasse, it was one of the original Roman streets that ran through Salzburg, in the middle ages it became a wonderful spot to buy goods and services, the only problem was not everybody knew how to read in the Middle Ages so shop owners would put these beautiful signs above their shop telling what they did for example this was the locksmith, and this was the umbrella shop and the Asclepius tells us this was the apothecary well I guess the modern day sign does that too and this little pair of trousers left out to dry well those bring us to a grand Salzburg and Alpines tradition, the lederhosen shop. How long has this shop been here? Since 1408, it's the oldest shop in Salzburg.

In the exact same spot always here? Always here. Wow. - Yes.

Always making clothing? Yes, deerskin, trousers, jackets and so on. And Jahn-Markl still makes the same stitching patterns that have been used for centuries, the different patterns tell you which region it's from. This one is for Salzburg, you see the white stitching like this style it's the same because this is a short one and this is a longer one.

Excellent so the white stitching is always Salzburg and the green stitching is from the lake region called? I'll see, Patichle, the Kaiser, our king made his holy days in Patichle. And there is a curious reason why this traditional costume has suspenders and not a belt. Just no belt so we had suspenders or what?

I think it's good because if people maybe they are a bit thick then. Because of all the bratwurst and the pretzels. (laughing) And then they can take with this because this one is little bit heavier and if the man is a little bit you know then it goes down if you have only the belt, if you have the suspenders it's perfect. (upbeat music) Next just around the corner from lederhosen shop is apartment number nine Getreidegasse, a very, very important and musical address here in Salzburg but why.

(dramatic music) Well here's a clue, everywhere in Salzburg from beautiful chocolate to bouncy dolls, it is all about a fella named Mozart especially here in apartment number nine. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in this very room on January 27, 1756, he created his first composition at the age of only six or seven, he played on this actual violin around that same age and the world has been enjoying his music ever since. Mozart is of course one of the greatest composers in history, from symphonies, to operas, to concertos, Mozart did it all and famously started very, very young. That is one of the most famous sheets of notes of the music history that is the first minuet that Wolfgang Amadeus composed.

So he composed that in these apartments when he was seven years old? Yes. Amazing. Six or seven.

In former times it was thought he was five years old but specialists for handwriting said no, the writing with feather and ink is not possible for such a small child. He must have been at least seven. And there are other stories that say Mozart began playing music at the age of three, right here in this very apartment. (classical music) His father Leopold described Mozart as quote, the miracle which God let me born in Salzburg.

Yes, Leopold saw it as his duty to share his son's God-given talent with the world and maybe profit a bit from it too. So, Leopold brought the child genius and his sister all over Europe to perform for the Royal courts. These letters tell their story. Things of everyday life, where they went, what inn they visited and if it was comfortable, who was ill and so on but also brought chances they have to compose, to give concerts and so we know that he was on a New Year's dinner at the court of the French king and that he was very well welcomed in Rome by King George and all that we know by these letters.

- From these letters. Yes. Fortunately, there are seven volumes of letters just like these, some more valuable than others. They have found additional letters again and again and they are some of these or for a very high amount.

Very high price, right for the right price you can have a letter too. Sometimes. -

Narrator

But this isn't the only Salzburg apartment filled with Mozart. There's another nearby where you can still hear his music today. (singing) We try to take the precious music of Mozart, of another time, to get the feeling from that time in combination with our time and to be happy and to give this feeling to the audience. -

Narrator

Professor Josef Wallnig is a conductor and a professor at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. Yes, there's an entire university dedicated to Mozart here. And this is Manuela Dumfart, an incredible opera singer and together, they have traveled the world, bringing the music of Mozart to audiences everywhere. (singing) but that's not the most curious part of this performance.

Not only has Professor Wallnig dedicated his life to the works of Mozart, he also happens to live in Mozart's widow's home. And I'm so grateful that my family bought this house in 1872, it is 600 years old and that we are able to live here and to get the atmosphere of Constanze sitting on the place where you are sitting now. I picked the best spot. (laughing) -

Narrator

Constanze was Mozart's wife and yes, this was her home. So today, to get to sit in her spot, in her home, for a private concert from two Mozart experts, well that's just about the ultimate Salzburg experience. That's the wonderful thing, we cannot analyze this miracle Mozart but we can only be glad to feel what he gives us. (singing) -

Narrator

Now, whether or not the neighbors appreciate all that joy blasting through the walls at all hours is something else altogether. (singing) Perhaps a better place to belt out Mozart's best is in a setting as grand as his music, Mirabell Palace. (classical music) Mirabell Palace was built in 1606 for Prince Archbishop Raitenau as you can see it was clearly a pleasure palace full of mythological figures and beauty. The location he chose was very interesting.

It's high above the hill, overlooking the river but more importantly, away from the busy streets where all the regular people were. -

Narrator

Well to be fair, another story says he built his palace away from the city because he was ill and the air was better up here. Whatever the purpose, the result is beautiful, so beautiful in fact that the name Mirabell has Italian roots meaning admirable or beautiful. So once again, Salzburg is the realm of the North. (classical music) Mirabell Palace's look has changed over the years but one thing that hasn't changed is a certain musical tradition held here in the marble hall.

Mozart played here as a young boy and that's the influence, you can (sniffs) smell Mozart. Whether you prefer to smell or listen to your Mozart, his music is still played in the exact same spot where he performed for Salzburg royalty in the 1700s. (classical music) What is it like as a musician to get to play in this palace, in this city that is so known for its rich music heritage? It's great, it's an honor to play here in this Mozart city.

And the Mozarteum orchestra carries on the greatness of the boy genius. Mozart, there's such a deep feeling in his music but on the other hand, it's so like children, there's the children's joy, it's so easy, you can hear it all the time. You can't get enough from the music. (classical music) (audience applauds) From the Mirabell Palace gardens, you can see another palace of sorts high upon a hill, so from an elegant pleasure palace to a sturdy medieval fortress.

Don those lederhosen because it's time to do some hiking. (classical music) To get there, we crossed that ancient Roman road again all the way until we hit the side of a mountain then it's time to go up, up, up to Salzburg's highest point. (classical music) This is the Festungsbahn built in 1892, this festive funicular carries passengers to the top of the fortress. So today, you can get there in less than a minute, walking only takes about 20 minutes but why walk when you can ride right?

And once at the top, we can explore the bigger history of Salzburg and we do mean big. Built in 1077, Hohensalzburg fortress is the largest fully preserved fortress in all of central Europe. It was originally built to protect the Archbishops and the people of Salzburg and apparently it worked because it has never been captured in its entire history. -

Narrator

And the fortress has been watching over Salzburg ever since. The original 12th-century single building fortress was much smaller than the complex you see today. Protective walls and bastions and additional wings and additional buildings, created more courtyards and more passageways and eventually, this entire fortress complex. Today, Hohensalzburg Fortress is the proud symbol of Salzburg.

At one point in time, the fortress was a temporary home to Salzburg's archbishops and from up here, you can see their full-time home and it is a much grander one. The imposing and elegant DomQuartier. (classical music) The DomQuartier is in the center of town and is a reminder of when Salzburg was a major power within the holy Roman empire. That's why the complex includes not just the cathedral but also the monastery and of course, the Archbishop's residence.

-

Narrator

But it wasn't just any Archbishop who lived here, the leaders of Salzburg had the title Prince Archbishop. And that you see from the title, Prince Archbishop means secular ruler as a Prince and of course, ruler of the Roman Catholic community as a Bishop, Archbishop and therefore he was the personification of absolutism and power. And that absolute power was over not just the darling, little fairytale town of Salzburg, but the much, much bigger state of Salzburg. And the State Salzburg were far more extended than it is today.

The political influence and the rule by the Prince Archbishop were from the Chiemsee Lake which is today in the Bavaria, down to the Slovenian borders and even small areas of outpost here, it was really the powerful place in the heart of Europe. You can compare it only to the Vatican in Rome. And if you wanted to visit the all-powerful Prince Archbishop, you would have to make it through a series of rooms. The name of the hall is Carabiner Hall, it's named after the Carabinery god.

And what happened here is that this special guard, were installed here and they had to separate the visitors like either they're going to a state rooms or maybe, quite rarely, they were allowed to enter the private household. If you then made it through there, you would then go into this room, conveniently decorated with a how-to guide on the ceiling. If you look up on the ceiling painting, you see Alexander the Great, and the City of Rome is kneeling in front of him to swear a oath, and this was exactly what happened in the baroque time in Salzburg as well. As soon as you were allowed to arrive here, and you saw the Prince Archbishop, you have to kneel down and wait until he shows you with a very gentle gesture that you're allowed to get up on your feet again.

Oh excellent. But guests never went into this room, it was reserved only for the Prince Archbishop himself for a very funny reason. Let's talk about hair styles, 'cause it's all about how we look, all about how we look, how we look. Which room are we in?

This is the Riterada which is an nice name for waiting room. Sometimes they try to get rid of the wig because. Oh in this room they would take their wig off. Yes because it's a private room, and after hours of meetings it's maybe, like the tie today you cut it off and they got rid of the wig.

Now let's talk about the wigs and obviously it wasn't just the Prince Archbishops but everybody in this time period. Why were men, why were they wearing wigs instead of just their own styling their own hair. In the baroque time the hygienic standards were not quite nice, and the people realized, if you have a short haircut, it's far easier to get the little animals out of your hair, sorry. (both laughing) It's true though, it's true.

Okay now that we've de-bugged our wigs, we're ready for church. And to get there, we go through the many, many connecting rooms and passageways from the residence to the cathedral, and we are greeted by two saints. Why two? Here we have the two Patron Saints of Salzburg.

On this side is Saint Virgil who is holding a model of the church, because he oversaw the building of the first Salzburg dome. On this side we have Saint Rupert who you will always see holding a barrel of salt, because it was the salt that gave Salz-burg it's wealth. This brings us to the history of Salzburg Cathedral. Over the centuries the church suffered several fires, and was rebuilt each time.

When it was rebuilt in the 1600s, the design was one of the very first baroque churches north of the Alps, designed by an Italian architect. There's that Italian connection again. He never built such a huge Cathedral before, so he developed a few new ideas. One idea quite new are the balconys, which makes the acoustic as well quite unique.

And acoustic are important since 900 worshipers can be seated here. Speaking of sound, wouldn't you know it, there is another Salzburg music connection here, two actually. Both Mozart and Joseph Mohr who wrote silent night, were baptized here. (vocalizing) You might even say that the Cathedral is alive with the sound of music, oh wait isn't it the hills that are alive with the sound of music.

Yep, for our last bit of curious Salzburg, we go back up those hills, where a signing family made their town famous in the 20th century. The sound of music isn't just a hit Broadway musical and one of the most popular musical films of all time. In fact, it actually brought worldwide attention to Salzburg history, architecture, and natural beauty. My Favorite Things, Climb Ev'ry Mountain and Edelweiss, the sound of music is perhaps the most precious legacy of Salzburg.

In fact, so many fans from around the world kept visiting Salzburg just to see the Sound of Music sites that this tour evolved out of it. On it you'll learn the real story of Maria and the von Trapps and what was a little movie magic, especially that escaping over the Alps on foot part. The real story is that Captain von Trapp was smart enough, he left before they closed the border, and they took their rucksack went on a train leaving from Salzburg next to the house to Italy, and from there they moved to the US. And that's one of the funniest differences between the real story and the movie is if you look at a map, they're not gonna cross the mountains wearing their dress and go to Switzerland, they just hopped on a train and went to Italy, it's a whole lot closer.

Yeah, yeah. - It's a whole lot closer. And you know if they would have walked over this mountain shown by the Fox movie, they would walk staright to Hitler's eagle's nest. But it looked prettier in the film on top of a mountain, that's why they did it.

Well creative storytelling aside, today you can see some of the real Salzburg locations for some of the most famous scenes in the film. And this of course is the famous gazebo that was the setting for Sixteen Going On Seventeen and also Something Good, but no I am not going to sing those for you. And this is the Leopoldskron Palace, the fictional von Trapp family home. And this was the church where Maria and Captain von Trapp got married, in the lovely little town of Monsey.

And this is the bridge where Maria and the children skipped across, wearing those play clothes, made out of curtains. By the way the bridge is named the Mozart Bridge, well of course it is. And finally, do you recognize this scene? The beautiful Mirabell Palace is a UNESCO world heritage site, right here in the heart of Salzburg.

And of course the adjoining Mirabell Gardens, we're famously used in the Sound of Music when Maria and Von Trapp children sang, Do, Re, Mi. Which will bring us back to Do, Do, Do, Do, and back to that beautiful Mirabell Palace, where the young Mozart performed. The Sound of Music, Mozart and a Prince Archbishop's Italian Palace, all in one place, that's Salzburg. So from salt to Saint Rupert, to the State of Salzburg, that was once so powerful that it's leaders needed a palace complex this big, which housed special rooms for wigs and bugs, and a soaring cathedral that is more Italian than Austrian, as are Salzburg's squares and streets, including an important ancient Roman street, where a child was born with a musical gift from God.

(dramatic music) That is still played centuries later in another apartment just a few steps away. Which is near a centuries old shop that supports Salzburg's sturdy mountain men, in a town that is kept safe by a sturdy fortress, on a mountain top, that is surrounded by even more hills that yes, are alive with the sound of music. Salzburg has so much to be curious about. Thank you for joining us on our educational journey and hopefully now you're even more curious, about the who, what, where, why, when and how of beautiful Salzburg.

As they say here in Salzburg, Gute Reise! (dramatic music)