Mirabell Palace, Salzburg, Austria

Mirabell Palace with its gardens is part of the Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace was built about 1606 on the shore of the Salzach river north of the medieval city walls, at the behest of Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau. The Archbishop suffered from gout and had a stroke the year before; to evade the narrow streets of the city, he decided to erect a pleasure palace for him and his mistress Salome Alt. Allegedly built within six months according to Italian and French models, it was initially named Altenau Castle.

When Raitenau was deposed and arrested at Hohensalzburg Castle in 1612, his successor Mark Sittich von Hohenems expelled Salome Alt and her family from the premises. Mark Sittich gave the palace its current name from Italian word mirabile ('amazing'). It was rebuilt in a lavish Baroque style from 1721 to 1727, according to plans designed by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt.

On 1 June 1815 the later King Otto of Greece was born here, while his father, the Wittelsbach crown prince Ludwig I of Bavaria served as stadtholder in the former Electorate of Salzburg. The current Neoclassical appearance dates from about 1818, when the place was restored after a blaze. Archbishop Maximilian Joseph von Tarnóczy resided here from 1851 to 1863. The father of Hans Makart worked here as a chamberlain. Joachim Haspinger (1776-1858), Capuchin priest and a leader of the Tyrolean Rebellion, spent his last year in a small flat.

The palace was purchased by the City of Salzburg in 1866. After World War II it was temporarily used for the mayor's office and housed several departments of the municipal administration.

Marble Hall

The Marble Hall of Mirabell Palace is the venue of the Salzburg Palace Concerts, directed by Luz Leskowitz. It is also a popular location for weddings.

Gardens

The Mirabellgarten was laid out under Prince-Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun from 1687 according to plans designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. In its geometrically-arranged gardens are mythology-themed statues dating from 1730 and four groups of sculpture, created by Italian sculptor Ottavio Mosto from 1690. It is noted for its boxwood layouts, including a sylvan theater designed between 1704 and 1718. An orangery was added in 1725.

The gardens were made accessible to the public under Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Up to today, it is one of the most popular tourists' attraction in Salzburg. Several scenes from The Sound of Music were filmed here.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

sharlin Islam (4 years ago)
Loved this palace! Lot to see inside and impressive decorations. The garden itself is huge and awesome.The ticket price was very reasonable. Would definitely recommend!

Ruben Candia Parra (4 years ago)
Such beautiful place to see. Kind of a beautiful yet sad sorry surround the history of the city. The movie I'm yet to watch but the history is just very rich.

Adventuress Ali (4 years ago)
Dont miss the music if you can get tickets. Ahhhhmahhhhgerd classical music in a palace, the way it really was meant to be heard /FELT - with the sounds bouncing off marble all around you. Mmm delightful. Nice free gardens, nothing else to see in the palace.

Shrivathsa Udupa (4 years ago)
Loved the palace and Garden. Well maintained. One of the must see on your Visit to Salzburg.

MyJedi Power (4 years ago)
It was a dream come true to be able to finally visit this place. Having seen the movie The Sound of Music hundreds of times, I have wanted to visit this place and see for myself where the movie was made. It was very satisfying. The place is beautiful and would happily visit again.

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