Page 230 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Austria

228  A USTRIA REGION b y REGION

date from the 15th century, Fuschlsee, stands Schloss
but it bears signs of an earlier, Fuschl, a small hunting lodge
late-Gothic structure. Once that now houses a luxury hotel.
the summer estate of the
Salzburg rulers, it belonged to
the Chiemsee bishops from 5 Hallein
1693 to 1803. After the secu- Road map D4. * 20,000. @ £
larization of the province, it was n Mauttorpromenade 6
put up for sale and passed to (06245) 85394.
Count Aloys Arco-Stepperg.
This new owner had the summer The town of Hallein was founded
residence converted into a in the 13th century, but salt
romantic English-style Neo- was mined here way back in
Gothic castle that has survived prehistoric times. The long
unchanged to this day. Its association with the salt trade
rectangular turret is proudly is apparent from the town’s
mirrored in the waters of the name: hall is the Celtic word
lake; the interior is furnished for “salt”. The “white gold”, as it
in the English fashion of the was called, brought wealth to
day. At the end of World War I, the entire region for many
Portrait of Archbishop Marcus Sitticus in on 13 November 1918, the last centuries, until the 18th-century
Schloss Hellbrunn king of Bavaria, Ludwig III, Counter-Reformation led to the
signed his abdication in Anif. emigration of the predominantly
2 Hellbrunn As the castle is privately owned, Protestant salt miners.
visitors can only see its high Hallein’s Old Town, on the
Road map D4. @ £ Tel (0662)
820372-0. Open Apr–Oct: 9am– outside walls. left bank of the Salzach river,
4:30pm daily; May–Sep: 9am–5:30pm is mainly 18th-century in
daily (until 6pm Jul–Aug; trick foun tains appearance, following much
until 9pm). & ∑ hellbrunn.at 4 St Gilgen remodelling. The church of St
Antonius has a Gothic presbytery,
Road map D4. * 3,800. @
Schloss Hellbrunn, once a n Mondsee, Bundesstrasse 1A but the rest is much newer. The
summer residence of Salzburg’s (06227) 2348. painting of the Birth of Christ in
Archbishop Marcus Sitticus, the main altarpiece is by the last
stands about 4 km (2 miles) St Gilgen is the largest court painter of the Salzburg
south of Salzburg. Sitticus was resort in the Salzburg area of rulers, the Neo-Classical Andreas
a nephew of Wolf Dietrich von the Salzkammergut. Set on the Nesselthaler. Hallein was the
Raitenau, with an Italian mother. western shores of the warm home of Franz Xaver Gruber
He spent most of his life in Italy, Wolfgangsee, amid mountain who wrote Silent Night, and he
and so it is hardly surprising scenery, this is one of the most is buried here. His house at
that his small, suburban castle attractive health resorts in Austria. No. 1 Gruberplatz is now a small
resembles a Venetian villa. It has St Gilgen was the birthplace museum. The most interesting
an interesting state room with of Mozart’s mother, Anna-Maria sight in Hallein, however, is the
architectural paintings and Pertl. Later, the composer’s Keltenmuseum with its unique
a tall, octagonal music room. sister, Nannerl, lived here with
However, the most interesting her husband, a local office
and popular feature is its garden worker. These Mozart-related
with ornamental fountains and facts are commemorated by a
scenic grottoes, including a plaque on the court building.
mechanical theatre, with trick In 1927, the Mozart Fountain
fountains and moving figures was erected in the town square.
powered by water. The local church of St Giles
(St Ägidius) shows hints of an
earlier structure. It was extended
3 Anif in the 18th century and given
Road map D4. * 4,000. @ £ three Rococo altars with
Tel (06246) 72365. paintings by Peter Lorenzoni.
St Gilgen is a major water
Another 2 km (1 mile) beyond sports centre and harbour,
Hellbrunn, also south of Salzburg, with cruises on Wolfgangsee
stands the small Neo-Gothic aboard the steamer Kaiser Franz
castle of Anif. Once a suburban Josef I that has been in
residence, it now lies virtually continuous service since 1873.
within the limits of the town Not far from St Gilgen, on the Poster of the fascinating Keltenmuseum
Anif. Its earliest historic records shores of the neighbouring in Hallein
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp297–8 and pp322–3

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.1)
Date 5th December 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm