''Residenzplatz'' is a large, stately square in the historic centre (''Altstadt'') of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Originally named ''Hauptplatz'', it is now named after the ''

Alte Residenz The Salzburg Residenz, also known as the Alte Residenz or Old Residence, is a palace located at Domplatz and ''Residenzplatz'' in the historic centre (''Altstadt'') of Salzburg, Austria. First mentioned about 1120, for centuries the Prince-Archbis ...

'' (Old Residence) of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. It is one of the city's most popular places to visit. The ''Residenzplatz'' is enclosed by

Salzburg Cathedral Salzburg Cathedral () is the seventeenth-century Baroque architecture, Baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg in the city of Salzburg, Austria, dedicated to Rupert of Salzburg, Saint Rupert and Vergilius of Salzburg, Saint ...

(''Salzburger Dom'') to the south and the ''Alte Residenz'' to the west. To the east is the ' (New Residence), a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

building erected from 1588 onwards, with its prominent

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

. Several historic private houses (''Bürgerhäuser'') frame the square to the north, among them the temporary home of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

painter

Johann Michael Rottmayr Johann Michael Rottmayr (11 December 1656 – 25 October 1730) was an Austrian painter. Biography Rottmayr was born in Laufen an der Salzach, Bavaria. Along with his Laufen-born contemporary, Hans Adam Weissenkircher, he received his educ ...

at No. 2, where he stayed while creating the ceiling frescoes in the ''Alte Residenz'' around 1690. The adjacent ''

Mozartplatz , formerly known as , is a square in the Altstadt Salzburg, historic centre () of Salzburg in Austria. In the centre of the square is a statue in memory of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was born in the city and after whom the square is ...

'' leads to Salzburg Museum.

History

The ''Residenzplatz'' was laid out from 1587 onwards at the behest of Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, after he ordered the abandonment of the cemetery of the former monastery that previously lay to the north of Salzburg Cathedral. Remnants of the medieval cemetery were recently discovered underneath the square's surface. Raitenau also had a large number of private houses demolished to provide space. Then called ''Hauptplatz'' (Main Square), the new public plaza coincided with the reconstruction of Salzburg Cathedral, according to plans laid out by the Italian architect

Vincenzo Scamozzi Vincenzo Scamozzi (2 September 1548 – 7 August 1616) was an Italians, Italian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century. He was perhaps the most importan ...

. Currently, the square is about to be refurbished, including a new paving and a monument commemorating a Nazi book burning conducted at the site on 30 April 1938.

Fountain

The ''Residenzbrunnen'' in the centre of the square was designed by Tommaso di Garona and erected between 1656 and 1661. The upper basin is topped by a Triton statue ejecting the waters upwards. It is made of

Untersberg The Untersberg is the northernmost massif of the Berchtesgaden Alps, a prominent spur straddling the border between Berchtesgaden, Germany and Salzburg, Austria. The highest peak of the Table (landform), table-top mountain is the Berchtesgadener ...

limestone (''Untersberger Marmor''). It is considered the largest Baroque fountain in Central Europe.

Events

The square hosts regular events: *Open air cinema: Every summer in July and August the square is transformed into an open-air cinema. Typically, taped performances of the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

are shown *Annual kermesse (''Kirtag'') celebrating the feast of Saint Rupert on September 24 *Salzburg

Christmas market A Christmas market is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now held in many countries. Some in the U.S. have Phono-semantic matching, adapted ...

during

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

. In the 1980s and 1990s, several rock concerts by

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

, and others were held on ''Residenzplatz''.

References

External links

{{commons category, Residenzplatz_(Salzburg), Residenzplatz Streets in Salzburg Tourist attractions in Salzburg