Mirabell Palace

Background

Mirabell Palace (Schloss Mirabell) stands on the bank of the Salzach in Salzburg, around Mirabellplatz, north of the medieval city wall; its garden is the Mirabell Garden (Mirabellgarten). This entry covers only the palace and garden; Salzburg's Old Town has its own entry. The garden is regarded as one of Europe's most beautiful Baroque gardens, with the patterned beds of the Grand Parterre, the Pegasus Fountain, the Hedge Theatre, the Dwarf Garden and the Orangery, and its north–south axis frames a view of Hohensalzburg Fortress. Inside the palace, the Marble Hall is the venue of the Salzburg Palace Concerts and is also used for conferences, award ceremonies and weddings; the palace also has the Marble Staircase and the Angel Staircase. Several scenes of The Sound of Music were filmed here, with Maria and the children dancing around the Pegasus Fountain as they sing Do-Re-Mi. The palace was built around 1606 outside the city wall by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau for his mistress Salome Alt and was first called Schloss Altenau. When Raitenau was deposed in 1612 and imprisoned in Hohensalzburg Fortress, his successor Markus Sittikus expelled Salome and her family and renamed the palace Mirabell, from the Italian mirabile (amazing) and bella (beautiful). From 1721 to 1727 it was rebuilt in lavish Baroque style to plans by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt; its present Neoclassical appearance dates from the restoration after a fire in 1818. The City of Salzburg bought the palace in 1866, and after the Second World War it became home to the mayor's office and several municipal departments. The garden was laid out from 1687 under Prince-Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun to plans by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. It contains mythological statues from 1730 and four sculpture groups (Aeneas, Hercules, Paris and Pluto) created from 1690 by the Italian sculptor Ottavio Mosto. The Hedge Theatre was designed between 1704 and 1718 and the Orangery added in 1725; the garden was opened to the public under Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Local customs

• Stroll along the garden's north–south axis towards Hohensalzburg Fortress
• relive The Sound of Music at the Pegasus Fountain and the steps
• visit the Marble Hall when no event is on
• attend a palace concert in the Marble Hall
• the garden is free and ideal for unhurried walks and photography.

Travel tips

• Entry to the palace and garden is free
• opening days and hours vary with the season and events, as officially announced
• the Marble Hall is closed to visitors during events
• the Hedge Theatre and Dwarf Garden close in winter
• both palace and garden are barrier-free. The palace is in central Salzburg, reachable on foot or by public transport
• check official information for routes. The palace and garden adjoin each other, so you can see both together.
• You can visit all year
• the flower beds are loveliest in spring and summer, and some garden areas close in winter. The garden is open daily, with gates open until dusk.