The “wall watchers” from the Mirabell Gardens

Very few people know about this small, but curious mystery within the Mirabell Gardens.

From out of the wall behind the Pegasus fountain, two stone-carved faces peek between the climbing roses. You’ll need to look carefully to spot these two faces. However, in autumn and winter, when there is less rose foliage, they are easy to see.

How did these faces end up in the wall?
There are a number of theories.
One is that they are the heads of statues which used to be on the roof of the castle. It is possible that the statues probably fell victim to the great town fire of 1818, and the heads were then used in the walls close to the castle, so that at least part of the statues were reused.

The picture-book scenery of the former pleasure garden

Just a stone’s throw from the IMLAUER HOTEL PITTER Salzburg are the famous Mirabell Gardens.

You might have a sense of déjà vu when seeing this picture-book scenery if you take the stairs from the Kurgarten park – it is where Maria von Trapp and children sang the song “Do-Re-Mi” in the film “The Sound of Music” – and enter the former pleasure garden of Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich and his mistress, Salome Alt.

On the horizon rises the Hohensalzburg Fortress, and the Mirabell Gardens in front of you seems like a piece of art made of neatly arranged, colourful flowers. Countless visitors succumb to the charms of this special garden every year – from Pegasus Fountain to the Gnome Garden; from the Orangerie to the Theatre Garden. Also the locals love their gardens.

The stony street, a tank and the house of pleasure

Our next insider tip involves a walk to the historic Steingasse (“Stony Street”), one of the oldest streets in the old town. With its medieval charm, the narrow alley is a good insider tip in itself.
Joseph Mohr, lyricist of the famous Christmas carol “Silent Night! Holy Night!” is said to have lived at number 31.

But what we want to show you is a piece of exciting contemporary history. Go along to the cultural film centre “Das Kino”. Right at the corner of the cinema, where Steingasse narrows, you’ll see a broken section of wall. It is precisely at this location that American soldiers got stuck with their tank, on the final day of the Second World War. The soldiers eventually had to be cut free from their predicament.

Some whisper that the soldiers hoped to visit the traditional house of pleasure, the “Maison de Plaisir”, in Steingasse. This has of course not been proven…

The Buddha and the “power spot” on the Mönchsberg

We’d now like to take you up to the Mönchsberg.

In 2001, between Richterhöhe and the mountain on which the fortress sits, a 4m-high stupa was erected. A stupa is a Buddhist symbol for the fully-realised spirit. This stupa is said to be located on a “power spot”, and was inaugurated by Lama Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche – a Nepalese man considered to be one of Nepal’s most important meditation masters.

But it’s not only the stupa that makes a walk up the Mönchsberg worthwhile.
If you go the few extra metres up to the Richterhöhe, you’ll be treated to an almost breathtaking panorama The Salzburg Basin lies in all its glory before you; to the south, the legendary, mystical Untersberg mountain.

A special place to meditate, or simply to enjoy the view.

Curiosity in the Getreidegasse:

How a shark came to be on the ceiling

Let’s briefly cross over to the other side of the Salzach river.

In a covered passageway on Getreidegasse – the “Schatz-Durchhaus”, you’ll find a curiosity.
If you stand in the middle of the passageway and look up, you’ll see a dried shark and the rib of a whale.

How did they end up there?
Back in the 18th century, the Mayrs, a merchant and sailing family, with business links to countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, had the idea of exhibiting the diversity and exotic nature of their products.
And so their first “advertisement” came about.

This decoration, also known as the “flying monster”, experienced another public outing many decades later: In a staging of “Faust” by Max Reinhardt, within the scope of the Salzburg Festival.