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Mozart, The Sound of Music, and the song “Silent Night” are among those born in Salzburg, Austria's fourth-biggest city that is a stone's throw away from the Alps. Salzburg's Altstadt (Old Town) has a world-famous Baroque architecture that is among the best-preserved in Europe, which is why the city became a World Heritage Site years ahead of the national capital, Vienna.
From baroque to futuristic
High upon the Alps is Salzburg's symbol, the baroque Festung Hohensalzburg castle. Constructed in 1077, the castle is one of Europe's biggest fortresses. Below it is the 1,300-year-old Stift Nonnberg, a Benedictine convent that is the oldest of its kind in the German-speaking world. The real Maria of The Sound of Music taught at the convent's school and married Captain von Trapp on the convent's ancient church.
Just across the fortress is a structure of sharp contrast, Museum Der Moderne, with its futuristic design and rotating displays of 20th to 21st-century artworks.
About Amadeus
Another building taking on a more high-tech approach is Mozart-Wohnhaus, with an audio guide and a background opera music that aim to set the mood for understanding the lifestyle and temperaments of the Mozart family. Amadeus' life and times are also celebrated in his birthplace, Mozart Geburtshaus, where the musical prodigy spent his first 17 years. The house exhibits the composer's childhood memorabilia, including the violin he played as a toddler.
Alpine setting
But Salzburg is not just all about Mozart. Untersberg, the closest alpine peak, provides a panoramic cable car ride 1,972 meters into its peak. There is also Salzach River for rowing boats, the open-air Freilicht Museum for engaging in farmhouse adventure, and Eisriesenwelt, home to the biggest ice caves in the world.
In Durrnberg Mountain, one of the world's oldest salt mine engage visitors to a dark tunnel train ride. At the city center lies Haur Der Natur, whose 36-tank aquarium of tropical fish is regarded as among the most beautiful in central Europe.
Festivals and concerts
Apart from a picturesque landscape, the city draws its energy from the operas and concerts of the Salzburg Festival, and the gathering of some of the world's most famous rockers during the annual Frequency Festival.
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