Salzburg

 

Salzburg, literally Salt Fortress, was a rich Prince-Archbishopric for over 1000 years (until Napoleon).

Hohensalzburg Fortress overlooks the city. Its first iteration was built in 1077.

The only siege the fortress ever faced was during the German Peasants' War.

Armor from the Thirty Years War

Prince-Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach developed the fortress and salt mines. His family crest is a turnip.

Turnips. Turnips everywhere!

Salzburg Cathedral was rebuilt by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau in the  16th and 17th centuries.

Salzburg has a lot of great fountains. This horse should get its nose checked out.

Salzburg Cathedral has some ornate ceilings.

It wouldn't be Europe without a questionable art exhibition in a holy site.

Strike me down!

This is the first thing you see when you leave the main underground parking garage in Salzburg.

Salzburg has many great breweries, but Stiegl is the most famous.

The food isn't too bad either!

Many corporations have embraced Salzburg's traditional signage.

Saint Peter's Abbey was founded in the 7th century. It is home to a very good restaurant, and possibly the oldest in the world, the Stiftskulinarium.

There are also ancient catacombs/hermitages carved into the rock there.

The Salzach river runs through the city.

The Residenz is the palace of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. There are more homages to Greek and Roman mythology than Catholicism there.

A tapestry in the audience hall in the Residenz

The ceiling decorations probably gave some guests a good scare late at night.

The curiosity room has an excellent stuffed monkey.

Mankind has been bedazzling for hundreds of years.

Mirabell Palace was built for Prince-Archbishop Wold Dietrich Raitenau's mistress. I'm not sure this Pegasus was a good addition.

The palace has an excellent dwarf garden featuring one for every month. Two are missing and no one knows where they are!

Preserved for posterity.

Hallein, near Salzburg, is the home of the region's main salt mine, and many Celtic artifacts. This bronze helmet is from 1300-1000 B.C.

If you ever wanted to see a cylinder full of ancient Celtic dog bones, this is the place for you!

Celts loved spiral jewelry.

And fibula!

The museum's prized possession is this very fancy bronze serving jug.

The rooms above the museum is home to some odd paintings. I guess this is how the Prince-Bishop toured the mines.

Logs down the Salzbach

Women were allowed to work in this human hamster wheel?

I think history remembers this conflict differently...

In between Salzburg and Hallein is the Hellbrunn Palace and Zoo.

Lemurs roam free here?!

Handsome

The lemurs are able to enter other animals' enclosures.

Which has secondary effects...

All good zoos let you feed some of the animals!

Hellbrunn Palace was built by Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittich von Hohenems in the early 17th century.

The Prince-Archbishop built a pleasure garden filled with trick fountains.

Predecessors to the Mirabell dwarves

Watch out!

It's hard not to get soaked here.

That tongue wagging monster is possibly the most suggestive thing I have seen in a Baroque garden.

Don't mess with the boar.

An intricate water powered automaton in the waterpark

Like all great Prince-Archbishops, Markus favored Greek mythology, as seen in this Actaeon fountain.

The creature of the Salzburg forest

They will tell you Salzburger Nockerl serves two. That is a lie.

But we managed to finish it anyway.