Another of my favorite spots in Austria, was Salzburg, where we spent two days, and without a doubt, the Mirabell Palace and Gardens. During our two days, we kept finding ourselves back in these gardens again and again. The outside of the palace is stunning, but we didn't tour the interior, as much as I might not have minded seeing the Marble Hall. Mirabell dates back to 1606, when it was then known as, Altenau Palace. Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau commissioned the building as a token of his love for Salome Alt, his common law spouse. After Wolf Dietrich's death in 1617, his successor renamed the palace "Mirabell". The most famous room of the palace is the Marble Hall. It was originally the Prince-Archbishop's ballroom, but was also used as a concert hall where Leopold Mozart and his children would regularly perform. The gardens were a joy to visit, and considered to be one of the most beautiful Baroque gardens in Europe. Some of these pictures may look familiar for being in the film The Sound of Music, where part of the movie was filmed when Julie Andrews sang Do Ri Me to the kids. But the Dwarf Garden gave me the willies. It is on an old bastion, a little removed from the main part of the Mirabell gardens. It features a display of misshapen dwarfs. It's believed some of these sculptures are people who were actually lived on the court of the Prince Archbishops of Salzburg. Creepy. But then I've seen to many horror movies where these things come to life and terrorize.
I agree about the dwarf garden!
ReplyDeleteThe rest of it very pretty.
xoxo :-)
But... Salzburg? And no mention of the Von Trapps?
ReplyDelete"Some of these pictures may look familiar for being in the film The Sound of Music, where part of the movie was filmed when Julie Andrews sang Do Ri Me to the kids."
DeleteCheers Dear!!!!!!
DeleteLovely. How does one go about growing a dwarf garden? I want to avoid that by any means necessary!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you how un-nerving that was. I swear those things had souls.
DeleteLooks rather grand, but that castle on the hill just reminds me that it was very close to here that Hitler had his summer home - it looks very Berchtesgaden to me... Jx
ReplyDeleteThat place on the hill is Hohensalzburg Fortress. It sits atop the Festungsberg and was erected at the behest of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg
DeleteThanks! I too was rather wondering what the building on the hill was. The views!
DeleteThose gardens are so fabulous! And I like the unicorn statue too!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was going through pictures I knew I had to feature that just for you Debs.
Delete*GASP*
ReplyDeleteSo absolutely beautiful! One more for my bucket list. Girl, you're making me wanna work on that passport!!
XOXO
Gorgeous garden to relax in! Very colorful with all the beautiful flowers. I do recall that scene from The Sound of Music...how cool to see it.
ReplyDeleteSalzburg was one of my favorite stops to while in Austria. That towns of the country are just plain stunning, no way around that. Course you know I'm partial to Mozart.
ReplyDeleteMozart duckie your the one...ok, Ill stop.
Lovely pictures! this was another Austrian palace with superb ornate gardens including that scary dwarf garden (statues of dwarves being all the rage!), fountains and an orangery. The dwarf garden was certainly a novelty but the rest of the gardens were typically formal, certainly none of the Capabilty Brown style natural settings - this was nature controlled. We saw the interior, but in my opinion the only room worth going in for is the Marble Hall.
ReplyDeleteWhether its the history of a palace built for the mistress of the Bishop of Salzburg or its location in the Sound of Music movie, the gardens are a MUST SEE and signature attraction. I will also say, they did not disappoint. The palace is a beautiful building and we were fortunate enough attend a concert inside.
ReplyDeleteMarvelous. Oh, how beautiful. I can't wait to go back. I would love to see this up close. I already have a little nest egg tucked away, so... once life returns to normal and other countries are no longer angry or afraid of us... yes. On the list. Kizzes.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a peaceful and intresting place. I am a sucker for fountains and gardens. Who knows, maybe one day I will make it to Austria. And I can certainly see why the Dwarf Garden gave you willies. They are downright scary.
ReplyDeleteBut those rubber Mozart ducks made me laugh. Both Vienna and Salzburg look fantastic.
You never know, you may end up being a Venetian princess yet!
DeleteI think I liked this palace better then the one you featured a week or so ago. Just beautiful pictures. Whether or not you are a big "Sound of Music" fan, this place is beautiful and looks worth the visit. It's an added bonus. Loved seeing the dancers too.
ReplyDeleteOne other day, they had a excellent youth symphony there that was quite enjoyable.
DeleteMirabell(e). Well-named.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful. I love it all!
ReplyDeleteSuch a stunning city. And now I’m singing Salzburg ByThe Sea from Bells Are Ringing! Where love and laughter live eternally...
ReplyDeleteA post with live entertainment! Where is the tip jar?
DeleteI'm with you on the Dwarfs garden, reminds me of the gnomes that used to be beloved in the 40s and 50s; couldn't walk anywhere without seeing gnomes fishing in a little pond or grimacing at the neighbours. Very kitsch (the gnomes that is, not Schloss Mirabel).
ReplyDeletePS did you buy any Mozart balls?
ReplyDeleteIf you think I'd pass up of chocolatey goodness your crazy!!!! Especially Venetian Chocolate. I had some there and bought a box of chocolate Mozart balls...but they never made it home.
DeleteWhen I win the lottery I’ll get a passport and have you as my tour guide.
ReplyDeleteCould you imagine! Id probably get us in trouble.
DeleteThe light colored jester - looks like Richard Nixon. We missed that palace on our short visit, something to go back for.
ReplyDeleteOne beautiful and intresting place. You know I'm a sucker for flowers and flower gardens. And till I read about the Sound Of Music bit, I thought the place looked familiar.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see this one day. I read a bit in an article once about the Dwarf Garden. If memoery serves, there were originally 28 cheeky and, quite frankly, ugly marble dwarf statues, each with their own role. There were 12 for every month of the year, 2 players of Pallone (the Renaissance game with a ball and a bat), as well as some others, serving as amusing caricatures of the times. The dwarfs were banned from Salzburg during the Enlightenment period and sold off, so the full set has never been recovered. However, 15 of them are now back home, with 2 of the months missing.
ReplyDeleteAnother nice installment of your travels. I need to start traveling with you. Vienna has been on the list like forever
ReplyDeleteI could enjoy this...been to Vienna...wonderful city of music...but that description fits well for Salzburg...
ReplyDelete