Mirabell palace and park in salzburg. Mirabel

The most attractive castle in Salzburg is considered to be the Mirabell Palace, surrounded by fabulous gardens. You will find it on the north side of the Salzach River, which divides the city in half, and only on the other side of the river is the Old Town.

Myths and facts

Originally built as a luxurious private estate, Mirabell Palace has been the property of the city since 1866. Now there is the residence of the city burgomaster.

Mirabell was built in 1606 at the request of Prince Wolf Dietrich von Reteno. The residence, which was originally named Alteno, is said to have been intended for the mistress of Prince Salome Alt. She bore him 15 children, but only 10 of them survived.

Not much remained unchanged in Mirabell after Retheno's death. His successor, Prince Marcus Sitticus, began by changing the name of the estate. The new name - Mirabelle - means "beautiful view". Sitticus probably had a magnificent view of the nearby Alps. About 100 years after Sitticus, another prince, Archbishop Franz Anton von Harrach, decided to completely remodel Mirabell. He enlisted the help of the architect Lucas von Hildebrandt. But most of the buildings were destroyed in a fire in 1818. The flames burned down the immaculate frescoes painted by the artists Gaetano Fanta and Johann Michael Rottmire. Only the Marble Hall and the marble staircase of the palace survived. After the fire, the court architect from, Pieter de Nobile, gave the building its current neo-classical look. But throughout the palace and in the gardens, you can still find various evidence of Baroque, such as the Donnerstig staircase and the Marble Hall.

What to see

The most famous landmark of Mirabell is, of course, the beautiful gardens, recognized as the best example of European gardening art, not inferior to gardens in France. In the garden conservatory, you will find the Baroque Museum. An interesting feature is the dwarf garden with 28 funny figures.

Concerts and weddings are often held here these days. The castle's marble hall is the most enviable and perhaps the most expensive wedding venue in all of Austria. Once upon a time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who grew up in Salzburg, played his works here.

Once upon a time there was an archbishop of Salzburg Wolf Dietrich von Raithenau... And although he was a church person, and according to the church rules of that time, it was in no way supposed to have beloved women, Wolf Dietrich was above the laws. In 1606, by his order, the most luxurious Altenau palaceas a gift to the lady of the heart, the beauty Solomeya Alt. The complex is being built outside the gates of the city - this is now the very center of Salzburg. Further more…

For a long time, it just so happened that if there is an impregnable castle, or some other palace is bigger and more beautiful, then a beauty must be imprisoned in it. And the prince. The one on the white horse. But this is in fairy tales. In the life of beauties, no one hides from the public in castles, on the contrary, the prince (not an obligatory character) tries to put the beauty on display, and even emphasize with the decoration and luxury of his location ...

Why all this introduction - and what we will tell you now about one of the most beautiful castles (more correct castle complexes - since the real pearl is, first of all, the castle garden) in Austria - castle Mirabell.

There lived the Archbishop of Salzburg Wolf Dietrich von Raithenau. And although he was a church person, and according to the church rules of that time, it was in no way supposed to have beloved women, Wolf Dietrich was above the laws. In 1606, on his order, the magnificent Altenau Palace was built as a gift to the lady of the heart, the beauty Solome Alt. The complex is being built outside the gates of the city - this is now the very center of Salzburg. Further more. The sentimental beauty, in a fit of gratitude, gives birth to 15 (fifteen) children to the Archbishop. Survived, however, only 10 - but this was a very good result by the standards of that time. Naturally, the family idyll continues only as long as the archbishop is alive. After his death, Solomeya was kicked out of the palace, and the complex itself was remodeled and expanded.

The archbishop is replaced by his main rival - cousin Marcus Zitticus von Hohenem. He also decided to rename the castle - to erase the shameful act of a relative from his memory. This is how the archbishop's summer residence Mirabell appears (historians argue to this day - either Mirabell is Spanish for "beautiful view", or in French there is a name for the kind of plums that grew on this territory ...).

For the next 200 years, archbishops were not transferred here. Someone liked the castle, someone treated it "with coolness", but everyone considered it obligatory to finish building something at least a little. So Mirabelle joined the Salzburg line. In the 20s of the 18th century, the castle was radically rebuilt in the Baroque style according to the project of Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt. So he did not reach us. At the beginning of the 19th century, Mirabell was burned to the ground by a massive fire.

The castle needs to be restored - this solution did not raise any questions. But who is worthy to do this? We decided to turn to Peter de Nobile, the court architect and director of the Vienna School of Architecture. The decision turned out to be controversial. On the one hand, the architect quickly got down to business and by 1819 restored Mirabelle, giving it the look that has survived to this day. On the other hand, such a famous architect did not want to follow the path of restoration, the castle was rebuilt according to his project. The result is a quieter, more restrained structure when compared to the 18-19 century period. And we must agree that the architectural gem of the castle are the objects that survived that terrible fire and came to us from ancient times: the famous staircase, the Marble Hall and the castle church.

In the palace complex, special attention should be paid to the magnificent staircase - a striking example of the late European Baroque. The marble balustrade is decorated with plump angels, obligatory for this style, pseudo-antique statues are located in the niches.
A marble wedding hallin the Mirabell Palace, art critics consider it unique and say that there is no equal to him in the world. The decor of the early 17th century has been completely preserved here - lush and sophisticated. The voluptuous archbishop clearly had a remarkable sense of beauty. Smooth walls of white and red-veined marble, ornamented with gilded lines and dissected by pilasters, define the sumptuous interior of this most beautiful wedding hall in the world. A green marble fireplace, gold medallions and sparkling glass chandeliers complete the decoration of the room.
This former castle hall not only celebrates weddings of couples from different cities, but also hosts the famous Salzburg castle concerts.
The building of the palace is used to this day. Part of it is occupied by the city administration of Salzburg, here is the residence of the Salzburg burgomaster and some city services. Several rooms are used as a baroque museum.

Having opened any guidebook, on one of the first pages you, looking through the list of attractions, you will definitely see Mirabell Garden. Oddly enough, but the park (or garden) at the castle has become an even more popular attraction than the castle itself. Mirabell Park is far from the scale of the Vienna Volksgarten, not as luxurious as the Luxembourg Park in Paris, but due to its compactness, brevity, in its own way, even uniqueness, it is sometimes called the most luxurious park in Austria.

The park is laid out in the classic form of baroque park architecture. At the entrance you will be greeted by two stone lions guarding the access to the fountain and the Garden of Dwarfs. The fountain is visible from afar and from afar it completely captures your attention. It is surrounded by four sculptural groups, which represent the four elements - air, earth, fire and water: Paris carries the Helen he had kidnapped through the water, Pluto takes Persephone underground, Hercules lifts the giant Antaeus into the air, and Aeneas carries his father Anchises out of the enveloped flames of the city of Troy.

Not far from the fountain, another popular place among tourists is The dwarf garden. It’s a small patch with stone figures depicting the daily life of the Salzburg people. But either the architect somehow distortedly saw these pictures, or with his creation he wanted to convey a different idea that did not reach his contemporaries, but the garden turned out to be peculiar. Someone even calls him scary. Humpbacked, grimacing, grinning dwarfs like a magnet attract viewers trying to unravel the creator's idea. Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria did not like these dwarfs so much when he lived in Mirabell Castle that he even wanted to destroy them. As a result, many of the sculptures were sold, and then it took a lot of effort to return them to their place.

Not far from the Garden of the Dwarfs is a small labyrinth and theater, the oldest open-air theater on this side of the Alps. It was actually used for performances: the hedge was the backstage where artists could prepare for their performance, and there is even an orchestra pit in front of the green stage. In the open air, pantomimes were performed, operas and ballets were staged.
Fountains, pools, stone balustrades, vases, sculptures and sculptural groups, pyramidal beech trees and floral arabesques have merged here into a single ensemble.

Needless to say - describing the beauty of the park is the last thing. She needs to be seen. Welcome to Salzburg. And don't forget to visit Mirabell.

The admission to Mirabell Gardens is free. The entrance to the Baroque Museum costs 5 euros. The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 9 am to 12 am and from 2 pm to 5 pm; on Sunday - from 10 to 13.

Thanks for the photo reshell

The Mirabell Palace and Park is the undoubted decoration of Salzburg. All the laws of landscape architecture are observed here. On the territory of the park there is a special corner - the Garden of the Dwarfs. What a truly wonderful collection of human characters!

Mirabell Palace and its owners

The snow-white Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg was commissioned by Prince-Bishop Wolf Dietrich von Raithenau. He built this magnificent architectural and park ensemble outside the city wall in 1606. The palace was intended for the archbishop's secret beloved. Her name was Salome Alt, and the original name of the building was Altenau.

In 1612, the archbishop was removed from office, and the palace passed to his nephew Markus Sittikus von Hohenems. Reitenau's successor renamed it Mirabell Palace, which means "very beautiful" in Italian.

In the 18th century, by order of the new Archbishop Franz von Harrach, the building underwent significant changes. Architect Johann Lucas Hildebrandt worked on the project. In the architecture of the palace, characteristic features of the Baroque style began to be traced, an inner courtyard appeared.

The fire of 1818 caused significant damage to the building. After the restoration of the palace, the unique baroque appearance was lost. Only the Marble Hall and the grand staircase, richly decorated with angels and cherubs, have survived from the original interiors. (The figurines on the stairs were made by the sculptor Raphael Donner.) Many elements were lost forever: statuettes and vases disappeared; decorative cornices and towers that adorned the facade. The style of the building after restoration began to resemble neoclassical. The modern look of the palace is the fruit of the work of Peter de Nobele.

Since 1868, the Mirabell Palace has been considered the property of the city of Salzburg - the city authorities bought it for 50 thousand guilders. Since 1948, the residence of the mayor has been located here. Currently, the Mirabell Palace houses the Salzburg magistrate and the burgomaster's office. It also hosts Salzburg palace concerts, congresses and award ceremonies.

The palace, its garden and the surrounding buildings are an architectural monument under the protection of UNESCO.

Marble hall

The marble hall of the palace used to be the ceremonial hall of the princes-archbishops. Leopold Mozart and his children Nannerl and Wolfgang Amadeus played music here. Today it has become a world-famous romantic wedding hall. Young couples come from all over the world to pronounce the cherished words of consent here. The wedding at the Mirabell Palace lasts 15 minutes. The newlyweds return on foot. There is no parking on site, you can only get to the gate of the palace.

Palace park

The baroque decorative park Mirabell was created during the reign of Prince-Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun, around 1690. The park is optically oriented towards Hohensalzburg and the Cathedral. Its alleys are decorated with sculptures on mythological themes, stone lions and fountains. Fischer von Erlach was responsible for the construction of the palace park in the 17th century.

Attractions of the park:

• the Pegasus fountain, installed in 1913, by Kaspar Gras from Innsbruck;
• A large fountain, around which there are 4 sculptural compositions symbolizing water, fire, earth and air. The work of Ottavio Mosto, 1690;
• Summer theater, surrounded by hedges, one of the oldest in Europe;
• Gnome garden with unusual sculptures of little people;
• The Rose Garden is located along the south wall of Mirabell;
• The greenhouse is used today as a palm house.

Scenes of the famous Hollywood film-musical "The Sound of Music" were filmed in Mirabell Park.

How to get there?

Go to the Salzburg Mülln-Altstadt stop.

While walking in big cities, you sometimes want to take a break and rest in some picturesque park or square. Salzburg is very lucky with such a place.

Moreover, the Mirabell Palace and its park territory are located in the historical center, and not on the outskirts, it is also one of the most romantic and cozy corners of the city, as well as its most important attraction.

Visiting the Mirabell Palace in spring, summer or autumn, you will enjoy the beauty of the building and the park, make a photo session, and children can relax in their usual style, running along the alleys.

In winter, you can also look here for a short time. Despite the fact that you will not find a riot of colors here, a walk in the sleeping park will allow you to plunge into a special state of relaxation and rest.

Palace history

The Mirabell Palace and Gardens is a true monument to love. Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raithenau presented it to the lady of his heart - Solome Alt.

The beautiful beloved gave birth to 15 children to the archbishop, so the gift was worth it. The architectural complex was built in 1606, and since then the sculpture of Solomei has stood in the park, as evidence that true love never passes.

In the 20s of the 18th century, the Mirabell Palace was rebuilt by the famous Baroque architect Lucas von Hildebrandt. Unfortunately, in the great city fire of 1818, many valuable items from the palace were lost, including the unique frescoes by Johann Michael Rottmayr and Gaetano Fanti.

The chambers of the palace were also damaged. However, the Marble Hall, the castle church and a large marble staircase, decorated with graceful figurines of angels, survived and successfully "survived" to this day.

Later, according to the project of Peter de Nobile, the Mirabell Palace of Salzburg was rebuilt and has already survived in this form to this day.

Mirabell Park and its "highlights"

Mirabell Park is no less famous than its namesake palace. It was also rebuilt at one time by order of Prince-Archbishop Johann Ernst Graf in 1690 and was rebuilt again later, in 1730, already under Franz Anton Danreiter.

One of the main attractions of the park complex, the Pegasus Spring, designed by Kaspar Gras of Innsbruck, was installed in 1913. The statue changed its location several times, but in the end found its ideal place by the fountain.

The famous Italian sculptor Ottavio Mosto also left his mark in the park - he owns compositions around the fountain, symbolizing the four elements: fire, air, earth and water.

In the western part of the Mirabellgartens there is hedge theaterestablished between 1704 and 1718. It is considered the oldest theater of its kind.

Along the southern wall of the palace, there are avenues of roses and beautiful ornamental shrubs. In the warm season, when flowers are blooming and fragrant, and neatly trimmed shrubs beckon with their luscious greenery, it is a pleasure to be in the park.

Dwarf garden, established on the territory in 1715, has always attracted a large number of tourists. In one of the corners of Mirabell Park, 28 funny sculptures of small men appeared, which depicted scenes from everyday life.

At one time, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria sold a unique collection of figurines at auction. Fortunately, most of it (namely 15 dwarfs) managed to be found and returned to their places.

Most of the guides will tell you an interesting legend about these figurines. They say that if you stroke one of the gnomes, he will transfer his power to you. So, for example, a gnome-seeker of a treasure will give you good luck, a gnome-trader will contribute to solving problems in business, and a gnome-water-carrier will bring freshness to your life. The main thing is to believe in this power.

Since 1854, Mirabell Park has been open to everyone. The decree allowing free visits to citizens was signed by Emperor Franz Josef.

Currently, the Mirabell Palace and its park are not only cultural and historical value, but also the place of work of the municipality and the Salzburg mayor.

Marble hall, in which Leopold Mozart and his son Wolfgang Amadeus played music several centuries ago, today it is recognized as the most beautiful wedding hall in Austria and one of the most beautiful in the world.

It is so popular with honeymooners that applications for the event must be submitted several months before the planned event, and a variety of meetings, concerts and official events are also regularly held here.

What else can you say about the palace and the park? This is an amazing place on the map of Salzburg, where all conditions have been created for pacification and good rest of the soul and body: cozy benches, and a gracious shadow in the heat, and beautifully blooming flower beds, statues, a building and reservoirs that make you enjoy a picturesque picture for a long time. But it's better to see all this with your own eyes.