It was interesting to learn that Salz means Salt and Salzburg has been famous for many centuries for Salt.
Luelle tasting a natural salt crystal, straight out of the Salt Mines.
There are salt mines near there that exported salt, both to the East and West, making Salzburg a center of commerce.
The city was also the home of Mozart and Hayden and other famous musicians and artists, coming behind only Vienna as a cultural center. Linz is the actual town on the river that we stopped at in order to visit Salzburg. Linz was a business town and had little or no cultural roots until about 30 years ago. The town leaders saw that they could not compete with Vienna or Salzburg for the classical music cultural market, so they decided to start inviting “Modern Artists” to their festivals and exhibits.
Modern Art Museums of Linz have become one of the most desired venues of Contemporary Artists. Good marketing by the Linz Chamber of Commerce!
This has grown every year and now Linz has become a world center of Modern Art with the two museums that light up the night with 50,000 LED lights that change color, making the whole museum a piece of art, especially with the reflection when observed from across the Danube. See photos
Salzburg was the scene of the movie, “Sound of Music,” which was a “Feel Good” movie for sure. It was interesting to hear the “Rest of the Story” from our tour guide.
The core of the movie is the true story of the Trapp family and Mr Trapp who declined to serve in the Nazi war machine. It was his need for a new mother to replace the children’s mother who had died and then the families defection that form the plot.
Some of the discrepancies were: When he pointed and said, “If we walk over those hills we will be in Switzerland” Over those hills was actually Germany.
- Famous to most people as Mozart’s Birthplace. For us it was the Meeting Place to meet our guide after our free time.
Herr Trapp, portrayed as the champion of democracy, believed in no such thing, He felt politics should be reserved for the Nobility, but could just not abide with that uneducated
ruffian & commoner, Adolph Hitler.
The Church was actually one a few miles from the nunnery, because it had more beautiful decorations.
The Cemetary was pieced together in the film editing rooms in Hollywood from two separate cemetaries, but at least one was St Peters in Salzburg. (see photo)
Finally was the socio-political purpose of the movie, at least in our guide’s explanation:
Austria didn’t have too good a reputation right after WWII. “We didn’t know about the camps” was wearing thin with so many Austrians high up in the Nazi organization, so there was some anti Austria sentiment that was hindering the Marshall Plan of rebuilding Europe.
Essentially Austria needed a facelift in the eyes of the world. The Sound Of Music, which has no Austrian Songs and is rarely shown in Austria, gave the country the boost it needed … and everyone felt good and lived happily ever after … sort of.
St Peter's Cemetary, part of the combo scene in the Sound Of Music. You can still be buried here but not if you're a newcomer. You need to have family here for at least 400 years to be eligible for this prestigious real estate.
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