The notes of a carol have long linked Christmas to Salzburg. The lyrics were written in 1816 by the priest and professor Joseph Morr, born in this city. Two years later, a friend, Frank Xaver Gruber, an organist and poet, set the music to it. It is said that on December 24, 1818, the two walked to the parish of St. Nikola, in Oberndorf, twenty kilometers from Salzburg, and there they performed it for the first time with their voices and a classical guitar. Since that beginning, Silent Night (‘Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!’), rewritten and with modified arrangements, has been translated into some three hundred languages and dialects, and in 2011 it was included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Unesco.The Oberndorf church was demolished after flooding in the 19th century, but a reproduction of the one built in its place sells for about 30 euros in Salzburg markets. It can be seen in some of the 95 stalls among hundreds of other objects that make up the Residenzplatz and Domplatz market (important: in most you have to pay in cash). The Salzburger Christkindlmarkt has just officially turned 50 years old, although the truth is that Christmas markets – smaller, considered almost as a meeting place around a mulled wine – have a much longer history, from the end of the 13th century or in the XIV in many European cities, or from the end of the XV right here, around the baroque cathedral that was rebuilt in the XVII on the ancient temple of 774. Wolfgang was born in Salzburg Amadeus Mozart, and inside the cathedral the organ he used still works during the 24 years he lived here, before seeking more fame and a less constricted life in Vienna, far from his enemy, the last prince-archbishop of the city. , Hieronymus von Colloredo. At 12:00 every day, except Sundays and holidays, there is a small thirty-minute concert where some of his works are performed on the seven organs in the temple, including the one that the local genius used to use. Listening to these works with the contemplation that the setting imposes causes a pinch of emotion. One of the organs in Salzburg Cathedral, where Mozart JFA regularly played. A saint (Rupert of Salzburg) founded the city at the beginning of the 8th century. And some powerful and unpious men of the church, the prince-archbishops, ruled and built it in their own way for centuries. Wolf Dietrich von Rathenau (archbishop from 1587 to 1612) had fifteen children and for them he designed the Mirabell Palace, today the seat of the Town Hall. He was the one who ordered the construction of the current Baroque cathedral on the previous Romanesque one. His uncle, Markus Sittikus, who denounced these excesses, replaced him in office and, when he had power, finished the cathedral and planned Hellbrunn Palace as a place of entertainment and relaxation never seen before. A third archbishop, Paris Lodron, created the University of Salzburg (1622) and completed the wall. The view of Salzburg from the Capuchin Viewpoint – a recommendable place not frequented by tourists – shows a small city (150,000 inhabitants), beautiful, crowned by the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which began to be built in the 11th century and was expanded on successive occasions, which you climb on a steep funicular. In the viewpoint area, on the other side of the Salzach River, there are still houses from the 13th or 14th centuries. The historic center that surrounds the cathedral (a Unesco world heritage site), at the foot of the castle, was renovated after the fire of 1598. It is a festival of interesting buildings, some flamboyant Gothic and others baroque, a style imprinted by Italian architects Vincenzo Scamozzi and Santini Solari, hired by the prince-archbishops. Bus 25, taken along the river, is the easiest way to get to Hellbrunn Palace, where the Christmas market is perfect. There are animals that graze in their stables. There are booths to have a mulled wine or a punch. And at dusk the façade of that festival palace created by Archbishop Markus Sittikus is illuminated. From St Wolfgang to Hellbrunn In the photo above, the St Wolfgang Christmas market, next to Lake Wolfgangsee. Next to these lines, the Salzburg flea market (Salzburger Christkindlmarkt), which has just officially turned 50 years old. On the right, Hellbrunn Palace, home to the perfect Christmas market. Wolfgangsee Tourismus_Mirja Geh and JFATree magical townsA large part of Salzburg’s wealth was due to salt, the treasure of these mountains. Salz means salt in German. In the 8th century, this merchandise was transported along the Salzach River to the Danube. And nearby is the Salzkammergut region, which could be translated as the salt chamber, a land of mountains and lakes. One of them, Wolfgangsee, with its unmistakable figure-eight shape, is home to three towns that make up a captivating route of Christmas markets. During the day St. Wolfgang, Strobl and St. Gilgen are fairytale towns, with their little houses of soft colors that once identified the occupation of the occupants and the smell of wood, but it is when night falls, still with blue in the sky, when it has the appearance that the visitors dreamed of when hiring the journey. They certainly seem like the scene of a Christmas story. Related News NEAR SALZBURG standard Yes Three towns between lakes and mountains where Christmas seems like a story JF Alonso On a street in Strobl there is an open log that acts as a brazier in which Some neighbors warm their hands. It is an object that explains a traditional and simple way of understanding these festivals. In St. Gilgen the houses look exactly the same as those sold at the flea markets. On the lake, next to St. Wolfgang, there is a sixteen-meter-high floating lantern that has become a symbol of modern Advent. Someday it will go viral on Instagram. The illuminated sculpture faces the 15th century church dedicated – like the town – to Wolfgang of Regensburg, a Benedictine monk canonized in the 11th century. Inside, two altarpieces coexist, something unusual, one Gothic and the other Baroque. Parade of the bell ringers (Glöcklerlaufl), on January 5 Hofer Glöcker and the Krampus Lso Krampus in Salzburg, at the beginning of December JFA Traditions. January 5 is the Glöcker or Glöcklerlaufl parade. The name refers to ancient witchcraft customs. They are ‘processions’ in which up to 20 members participate, led by the precursor or spy. They dress in white, have hats decorated with candles and a bell on their waist that rings loudly. Their particular hats, made of wood, paper, parchment and cardboard, can measure up to 2.5 m and weigh up to 15 kg. The bell ringers parade in Ebensee, the town where it all began more than a century ago, is part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. In December there is another even older tradition, from the 17th century, that of the Krampus, terrifying-looking beings (half goat, half demon) who accompany Saint Nicholas and scare those who have behaved badly.St. Wolfgang is the center of Christmas on the lake, the place where the largest market is and where many people want to see the Posada del Caballito Blanco, which has become a reference to the romantic operetta of the same name. The anecdote that inspired the composers actually occurred in a nearby town, but when it came time to put it black on white they located it in a White Horse inn that existed in Wolfgang. They took that name to the title and premiered the comedy in Berlin in 1897. The current hotel (Im Weissen Rössl) has one of the most illuminated facades in the center, reddish in color, with the score on the wall. Oh, it also has, next to the lake, the first floating jacuzzi in the world. Hints How to go. On November 30, Iberia inaugurated a direct flight between Madrid and Salzburg, Wednesdays and Saturdays, until March 29. From Salzburg to Bad Ischl, the two ends of this route, it is only 50 km. Sleep. In Bad Ischl, the hotel Villa Seilern. In Strobl, the Kirchenwirt. Both have a spa area. In Salzburg, the recently opened Gentle Hide, a ten-minute walk from the markets. Eat. In Salzburg, the Wirtshaus Elefant. Tasty traditional food. In this restaurant Saramago discovered the real journey of an elephant from Lisbon to Vienna that would give rise to his book ‘The Journey of the Elephant’ (2008). Another option at a good price: Zirkelwirt, on Papagenoplatz. Views of the Alps. The last stop of bus 25 leads to the exit of the cable car that goes up to Untersberg (1,973 m), the closest mountain to Salzburg, with views of the Alps. To take this bus or the castle cable car, the Salzburg Card is very useful, almost an all-inclusive in the city, available for 24, 48 or 72 hours (from 28 to 41 euros). In the heights. The Schafberg is a rack railway that goes up from St. Wolfgang to the Schafberg (1,783 m). In St. Gilgen you can take a cable car (Zwölferhorn Cable Car) to appreciate the beauty of this area of lakes and mountains. Says Noelia Torres, a Guatemalan who has been in Austria for thirty years, that no one here thinks of Christmas as an all-night party. and discos. In the streets there is no cundachunda and you listen to more classical music than Mariah Carey. In Austria, Christmas is about family and tradition, he adds. Since the beginning of Advent on November 30, small towns like Bad Ischl smell like homemade cookies (hundreds or maybe thousands), families and friends sing Christmas carols and mulled wine (5 euros) is sold on the streets. fruit punch (5.50), waffles, wafers or hot dogs. Christmas in Bad Ischl, the city where Emperor Franz Joseph met Sissi in 1853 JFANoelia lives in Bad Ischl, less than 15 km from the lake, European Capital of Culture in 2024. In the city where Franz Joseph (1830-1926) spent his summers – and where he met Sissi in 1853 – the Christmas lighting highlights the night in the center and on the bridge that crosses the Traun River, where salt was also transported. In 1882, doctors Goetz and Wirer discovered the healing powers of this ‘white gold’, which attracted many tourists. Nearby are the Kaiservilla, the emperor’s palace, and the residence of Franz Lehár, the famous operetta composer. In December, however, there are almost more people in the pastry shops. “Gingerbread is always a pleasure,” reads the entrance to the Franz Tausch confectionery. And in Zauner, one of the best in the region, small and beautiful houses ‘built’ with this typical bread made with flour, honey, nuts, fruits, spices and chocolate are exhibited. Yes, this Christmas it smells like oven and cookies and in many corners, at any time, ‘Silent Night’ is playing again.
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