Churches, Salzburg

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An interesting church to visit is St Andrä, located right next to the Mirabellplatz bus stop. The church, completed in 1896, was all but destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II. What you see is a restoration, completed in 1952. We were quite impressed by the interior especially. If the weather is not conducive to being outside for reasons of temperature or precipitation, this is is not a bad place to spend some time while waiting for your bus.

The Holy Trinity church is located near Mirabell Palace in the new part of the city. It is another impressive Church in Salzburg. This Baroque Church was constructed in 1694, and has a marble facade and twin towers.
It has a famous painting of the coronation of the Virgin Mary with the Holy Trinity.

Located in one of the oldest residential areas in Salzburg, where the oldest Roman building in Salzburg was discovered, is St. Erhard's Church.
Another great Church, this one was originally built as a hospital chapel. St. Erhard was known as a miraculous healer of the sick and protector of the poor.
The new Erhard Church was built in 1689, and became a parish church in 1853. It is built in Italian baroque style and painted grey, a beautiful Church to see.

IF YOU GO INSIDE...Expect to see extravagant Italian baroque style which has plenty of colour and ornamentations. The sculptured figures represent Salzburg's three founding bishops, St. Rupert, St. Vitalis and St. Virgil and St. Martin of Tours. The four cardinal virtues, prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice, are attributed to the four bishops.

The wall fountain with a lion's head gargoyle is said to come from a mineral spring with purifying and life-giving properties.

THE CHURCH IS OPEN....Daily 8.00 a.m. - 7.00 p.m.

It is the oldest parish church in Salzburg's burghers' town.

It is situated on ancient ground between the Residence and the Waagplatz.

It served as a palace chapel and parish church up to the 12th century. The upper sector was reserved to the emperor and his entourage and was accessed from the palace. The lower sector was accessed from the market square and open to the public.

The principal altar is decorated with an impressive painting of the Archangel Michael conquering Lucifer. The side altars are decorated with paintings of archangels Gabriel and Raphael.

Open Daily 8-11.45am, 1-6pm

No visits during mass!

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St.Peter's Church offers an interesting contrast: While looking rather plain from the outside, the interior is of abundant and luxurious baroque. It belongs to an abbey which was founded in the 7th century and was responsible for most of the missionary work in Austria and Hungary. After the positions of abbot and archbishop were separated, the abbey concentrated on arts and research.

The church, also built in the 7th century, was destroyed in the 12th century and a new, Roman church was built. Construction started in 1130, but the tower was only built in 1250, also of Roman style. First baroque alterations were made in the 17th century and more in the 18th century, when the tower was reconstructed. The cupola was added in 1622.

Besides the cathedral, this is the church that is most visited by Salzburg tourists. And I think this is absolutely rightly. The ceiling frescoes are very beautiful and as said in the beginning, the contrast of interior and exterior is stunning. There are also several rococo altars which are very interesting.

The abbey is the oldest still-existing abbey of the German-speaking countries.

The church is open from 8am until 12.00am and 2.30am until 6.30pm daily.

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St. Peter's Cemetary is beautifully enclosed by the the Mönchsberg, St. Peter's Church and small arcades. My guidebook says that it belongs to the most beautiful cemetaries in the world - I have not seen enough to judge that, but it certainly is an idyllic and contemplative place. When you go to see St.Peter's Church, make sure you visit the cemetary as well! This is easily done when walking up to the fortress, as it lies on the way.

The surrounding arcades were built in 1627. On the cemetary, you also find the late gothic Margarethenkapelle (Margaret's Chapel) which was built in the end of the 15th century. Unfortunately it was closed when I was there and I could not find any info on opening times. I think it is mostly closed because it is used for laying out. The chapel was changed to baroque style in the 18th century, but restored to the original gothic style later again.

The graves on the cemetary are unique and beautiful, I did not take any closer pictures, though, because I never feel well doing that.

The cemetary is open from 6.30am until 7pm daily in summer, and 6.30 until 5.30pm daily in winter.

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These catacombs are where the town of Salzburg really started - the very beginnings of Salzburg!

They were constructed in the 3rd century and legend has it that Saint Rupert and his followers found shelter here.
When entering the catacombs, at first you get to a vault where you can see the tombs of Michael Haydn, the younger brother of famous Josepf Haydn, and Nannerl, Mozart's sister.
Exploring further into the catacombs, you encounter two rooms that are a little bigger (but still very small): The Maximuskapelle where Saint Rupert is buried, and the Ägidiuskapelle where Saint Rupert held his services, as the legend says.

While roaming through the catacombs and trying not to hit your head, you should have a look out of the small windows: There is a great view of the cemetary, St. Peter and the cathedral! Good photo opportunities.

The fee is 1,50€ for adults and 1€ for children.
Opening times: May - September: Tuesday til Sunday 10:30 am until 5.00 pm, October - April: Wednesday and Thursday 10:30 am til 3:30 pm, Friday-Sunday 10:30 am til 4 pm, closed during three weeks in November.

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Franziskanerkirche (Franciscan's Church) is located in the middle of the Old Town, next to the Residenz. You can access it from Sigmund-Haffner-Gasse. Besides the cathedral and St. Peter, this is the most important and most visited church of Salzburg.

There was already a church at this place in the 8th century, but it was destroyed by the troups of Barbarossa. The Franziskanerkirche was then built in the beginning of the 13th century, with major alterations in the 15th century when the gothic choir and the tower were constructed.
The altar was made by the famous baroque artist Johann Fischer von Erlach. It is such a big contrast to the gothic hall of the church that your eyes hardly get used to it! Certainly very interesting and unique.
Another contrast is the one of the gothic style of the hall to the roman altar room. All this makes a unique and fascinating mixture! Maybe not the most beautiful church, but certainly the most special one in Salzburg.

You can also find the tomb of Saint Virgil here.

The church is now enclosed by the surrounding buildings and linked to the Residenz so that not much of the outside is visible.

Open from 6.30am til 7.30pm every day.

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The Kollegienkirche (Collegiate Church), also called Universitätskirche (University Church), is my favourite Salzburg church after the cathedral! It is just so beautiful - not that luxurious and abundant, but elegant and gorgeous.

It is located at Universitätsplatz (university square) in the middle of the Old Town. Here you can see the beautiful backside of Mozart's Birthplace. There is also a big daily market (every day except sundays) where you can buy fruit and vegetables, bakery produce and souvenirs. It is very busy and authentic, as the peasants from the surrounding towns come here to sell their goods.

The Kollegienkirche was constructed by Fischer von Erlach who designed so many buildings in Salzburg, and it is considered his best work. It was consecrated in 1707 and has a curved façade and two low towers, which became a model for many baroque churches in Austria and Southern Germany. At the top of the façade there is the Maria Immaculata which was the hot topic of university discussion at the time.
The interior was very unusual to me because it is not long, but focuses on the midpoint. It is plain white because the planned paintings were not realised - it is not really known why. There is some beautiful stucco work though!

As described before, this church is not as luxurious and decorated as the others, but I found it very interesting and beautiful.

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Sebastianskirche (Sebastian's Church) is located north of the river on Linzer Gasse. It is originally a gothic building, built in the beginning of the 16th century, but has been reconstructed to baroque style in the 18th century. In 1818, almost the whole interior was destroyed by a fire and needed to be completely renovated. A new, contemporary interior was employed then. One of the few earlierpieces left is the Madonna with Child that is now part of the altar.

I liked this church because it is baroque, but not as overloaded as many others. Besides the altar and the pretty side altars, the church is rather plain.

Even if you don't want to visit Sebastianskirche, have a look at the nice rococo entrance when walking down Linzer Gasse!