Salzburg (, ; , also known as ''Salzburgerland''; ) is an Austrian

federal state A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the c ...

. In German it is called a , a German-to-English dictionary translates that to ''federal state'' and the European Commission calls it a ''province''. In German, its official name is , to distinguish it from its eponymous capital

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 ...

. For centuries, it was an independent

Prince-Bishopric A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to ''Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the Bi ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. It borders Germany and Italy.

Geography

Location

Salzburg State covers an area of . It stretches along its main river — the

Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: �saltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn (river), Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limeston ...

– which rises in the

Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps () or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slovenia. South of them is ...

in the south to the

Alpine foothills The Alpine foothills, or Prealps (; ; ; ), may refer generally to any foothills at the base of the Alps in Europe. They are the transition zone between the High Alps and the Swiss Plateau and the Bavarian Alpine Foreland in the north, as well as ...

in the north. It is located in the north-west of Austria, close to the border with the German state of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

; to the northeast lies the federal state

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

; to the east the federal state

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

; to the south the federal states

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

and

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

. With 561,714 inhabitants, it is one of the country's smaller federal states in terms of population. Running through the south are the main ranges of the Alpine divide (incl. the Hohe Tauern mountains) with numerous

three-thousander Three-thousanders are mountains with a height of between , but less than above sea level. Similar terms are commonly used for mountains of other height brackets e. g. four-thousanders or eight-thousanders. In Britain, the term refers to mount ...

s. The

Dachstein Hoher Dachstein () is a strongly karstic mountain in central Austria and the second-highest mountain in the Northern Limestone Alps. It is situated at the border of Upper Austria and Styria, and is the highest point in each of those states. Par ...

massif and the

Berchtesgaden Alps The Berchtesgaden Alps (, ) are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, named after the market town of Berchtesgaden located in the centre. It is crossed by the Austria–Germany border: the central part belongs to the Berchtesgadener Lan ...

ranges of the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the ...

border Salzburg State to the east and north.

Regions

The federal state is traditionally subdivided in five major regions ('' Gaue''), congruent with its political districts (''

Bezirk The German language, German term (; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ; derived from , "circle") translated as "district" can refer to the following types of administrative divisions: * , a subdivision of a city in the sense of a borough (e ...

e'', see

administrative divisions Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

* In the northern part: ** Flachgau (Salzburg city and environs), the flat () Salzburg Basin around the confluence of Salzach and

Saalach The Saalach is a river in Austria and Germany, and a left tributary of the Salzach. Course The river begins, as the stream, in the Austrian state of Tyrol in the Kitzbühel Alps at the lake below the high Gamshag. From there it flows ini ...

, stretching from the slopes of the Salzkammergut Mountains in the east to the

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 ...

massif and the

Chiemgau Alps The Chiemgau Alps () are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and belong to the Eastern Alps. They are crossed by the Austria–Germany border: their major part is situated in Bavaria, Germany, and only a small section is within the ...

in the west. ** Tennengau (district capital

Hallein Hallein () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. It is the capital of Hallein (district), Hallein district. Geography The town is located in the ''Tennengau'' region south of the City of Salzburg, stretching alo ...

), named after the Tennen Mountains, including the broad Salzach Valley south of Salzburg and the surrounding ranges of the Limestone Alps. * The southern, mountainous (colloquially ''Innergebirg'') part is divided into: **

Pinzgau The Bezirk Zell am See is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pinzgau region (). The area of the district is , with a population of 84,124 (May 15, 2001), and population dens ...

(

Zell am See Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its Ski resort, ski resorts and shorel ...

) in the southwest, **

Pongau The Bezirk St. Johann im Pongau is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pongau region. Area of the district is 1,755.37 km2, with a population of 77,872 ...

( St. Johann im Pongau) on Salzach and Enns, and ** Lungau ( Tamsweg) in the southeast, separated by the Niedere Tauern range.

Major cities and towns

Salzburg municipalities with

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

: *

(pop. 148,521) *

(20,022) * AUT Saalfelden COA

Saalfelden (16,046) * Wappen at st johann

St. Johann im Pongau (10,740) * AT Bischofshofen COA

Bischofshofen Bischofshofen () is a List of cities and towns in Austria, town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau District, St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. It is an important traffic junction located both on ...

(10,352) * AUT Zell am See COA

(9,683) *

Seekirchen (9,945) * Wappen at neumarkt am wallersee

Neumarkt am Wallersee Neumarkt am Wallersee is a town in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria. Origins The origins of the city are in 1240, with the Archbishop Erberhard II of Salzburg. Population Neumarkt am Wallersee has a pop ...

(5,846) *

Oberndorf bei Salzburg Oberndorf bei Salzburg ( Central Bavarian: ''Owerndorf ba Såizburg'') is a small city in the Austrian state of Salzburg, about 17 km (11 mi) north of the City of Salzburg. It is situated on the river Salzach in the Flachgau district. ...

(5,600) *

Mittersill (5,443) * AUT Radstadt COA

Radstadt (4,864)

Wals-Siezenheim Wals-Siezenheim () is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung District, Salzburg-Umgebung (''Flachgau'') in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. The double municipality had been founded in 1948 of the places Wals and Siez ...

, a common municipality with about 12,000 inhabitants, is known as 'Austria's largest village'.

History

Salt mining Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite Formation (geology), formations. History Before the advent of the moder ...

has played an important role in the region's development; ''Salzburg'' means "salt city".

Salzburg as an independent state

Independence from

was secured in the late 14th century. The

Archbishopric of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (; ) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of Salzburg, as distinguished from the much larger Catholic diocese f ...

was an independent prince-bishopric and

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of the

until

German Mediatisation German mediatisation (; ) was the major redistribution and reshaping of territorial holdings that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany by means of the subsumption and Secularization (church property), secularisation of a large number of ...

in 1803.

Electorate of Salzburg

The territory was secularized and, as the

Electorate of Salzburg The Electorate of Salzburg ( or ), occasionally known as the Grand Duchy of Salzburg, was an electoral principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1803–05, the short-lived successor state of the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg. History In ...

, given as compensation to Ferdinand III, former Grand Duke of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, the brother of Emperor Francis II.

The end of independence

Following the Austrian defeat at Austerlitz in 1805, Salzburg was annexed by Austria as compensation for the loss of

to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

, and Ferdinand was transferred to the

Grand Duchy of Würzburg The Grand Duchy of Würzburg () was a German grand duchy centered on Würzburg existing in the early 19th century. History As a consequence of the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville, the Bishopric of Würzburg was secularized in 1803 and granted to the ...

Bavarian Salzburg

After Austria's defeat in 1809, the federal state was handed over to

in 1810.

The country divided between Bavaria and Austria

In 1816, following the defeat of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and the provision of adequate compensation to Bavaria at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, it was returned to Austria with the exception of the north-western Rupertiwinkel which remained Bavarian. The Salzburger Land was administered as the department of Salzach from

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, the capital of

. In 1849 the Duchy of Salzburg was established as a

crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

and, after 1866,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

World War I

Salzburg participated in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 49,000 Salzburgers were called to arms, of whom 6,000 were killed.

Post-World War I Austrian republics

In 1918 after

, the Duchy of Salzburg was dissolved and replaced with the State of Salzburg, as a component part initially of

German Austria The Republic of German-Austria (, alternatively spelt ), commonly known as German-Austria (), was an unrecognised state that was created following World War I as an initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking and ethni ...

and subsequently of the

First Republic of Austria The First Austrian Republic (), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of World War I which ended the Habsburg rump state of ...

, the separate state which was mandated by the Allied powers.

Salzburg in Germany

As a result of '' Germany's annexation of Austria'' in 1938, Austria, including Salzburg State, was incorporated into

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

American control

After the defeat of

in 1945, the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

occupied the territory of Austria, being recognized as an independent territory under their rule. Salzburg State was occupied by the United States.

Salzburg as an Austrian federal state

In 1955, Austria was again declared an independent state and Salzburg was once again one of the reconstituted federal states of the Second Republic of Austria.

Demographics

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:28 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:580 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:50 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:22 shift:(-60,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1869 from:0 till:153 text:153,159 bar:1880 from:0 till:164 text:163,570 bar:1890 from:0 till:174 text:173,510 bar:1900 from:0 till:193 text:192,763 bar:1910 from:0 till:215 text:214,737 bar:1923 from:0 till:223 text:222,831 bar:1934 from:0 till:246 text:245,801 bar:1939 from:0 till:257 text:257,226 bar:1951 from:0 till:327 text:327,232 bar:1961 from:0 till:347 text:347,292 bar:1971 from:0 till:405 text:405,115 bar:1981 from:0 till:442 text:442,301 bar:1991 from:0 till:482 text:482,365 bar:2001 from:0 till:515 text:515,327 bar:2011 from:0 till:532 text:531,721 bar:2021 from:0 till:561 text:560,710 TextData= fontsize:M pos:(35,20) text:"Source: Statistik Austria"

Politics

Salzburg adopted its current provincial constitution in 1999. The provincial government (''Landesregierung'') is headed by a governor (

Landeshauptmann The Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute,'' ) is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Ty ...

), who is elected by a majority in the provincial parliament

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

. Provincial elections are held every five years. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, most provincial governments were led by the conservative

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

(ÖVP). ÖVP politician

Josef Klaus Josef Klaus (15 August 1910 – 25 July 2001) was an Austrian politician of the conservative People's Party (ÖVP). He served as State Governor (''Landeshauptmann'') of Salzburg from 1949 to 1961, as Minister of Finance from 1961 to 1963 and a ...

(1910-2001), later

chancellor of Austria The chancellor of Austria, officially the federal chancellor of the Republic of Austria (), is the head of government of the Austria, Republic of Austria. List of chancellors of Austria, Twenty-nine people have served as chancellor. The curre ...

, served as governor of Salzburg from 1949 till 1961. In 2004 Gabi Burgstaller became the first

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

(and first female) governor of Salzburg. Salzburg Chiemseehof

The last results, in April 2023 (Compared to

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

) were:

The current governor of Salzburg, Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP), entered into coalition discussions with the FPÖ, after his proposition of a ÖVP-FPÖ-SPÖ coalition was rejected by the Social Democrats. Haslauer said "I regret that we could not implement the Alliance for Salzburg". After successful coalition negotiations, the ÖVP and the FPÖ entered into a governing coalition with Haslauer as the Governor and Marlene Svazek as the First Deputy Governo

Salzburg State has joined

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

and

as the third black-blue coalition provincial government. The ÖVP has four seats in the government, while the FPÖ has three. The current president (speaker) of the Salzburg federal state parliament is

Brigitta Pallauf Brigitta Pallauf (born 26 November 1960) is an Austrian politician. She has been president of the Salzburg state parliament between 2013 and January 2018, and June 2018 to the present. Life Pallauf attended the Gunskirchen primary school betw ...

Government

Government ministers and their portfolios from the 2023 provincial election.

Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP

/h3>
* State Direction * Finance and Asset Management * Security * Disaster Prevention * Museums * Research and Science * European Affairs

1st Deputy Marlene Svazek (FPÖ

/h3>
* Nature and Environment Protection * Business * Early and Primary Education * Hunting and Fishing * Youth * Families * Integration * Generations

2nd Deputy Stefan Schnöll (ÖVP

/h3>
* Economy and Tourism * Communities * Employment and Labour Market * Infrastructure and Traffic * Culture

Members of the provincial governmen

/h3>
* Josef Schwaiger (ÖVP): Agriculture, Personnel Management, Water, National Parks, Energy, Asylum Seekers * Daniela Gutschi (ÖVP): Education, Health, Women and Diversity * Christian Pewny (FPÖ): Social Services, Food, Consumer Protection, Regional Development, Apprenticeships * Martin Zauner (FPÖ): Spatial Planning, Living, Sport, Basic Traffic

Administrative divisions

Districts

Salzburg State comprises six districts, known as ''Bezirke'' or vernacularly ''Gaue'': * Hallein District (Tennengau region) * St. Johann im Pongau District (Pongau region) * Salzburg-Umgebung District (Salzburg environs) (Flachgau region) *

Tamsweg District Bezirk Tamsweg is an administrative district ('' Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria. It is congruent with the Lungau region (). The administrative centre of the district is Tamsweg. Geography The area of the Lungau plateau is ...

(Lungau region) *

Zell am See District The Bezirk Zell am See is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pinzgau region (). The area of the district is , with a population of 84,124 (May 15, 2001), and population dens ...

(Pinzgau region) Salzburg city is its own administrative district.

Municipalities

The federal state is divided into 119 municipalities, including Salzburg City. 11 of them have city status (''Städte''), 25 are market towns (''Marktgemeinden'') and the other 83 are simple municipalities (''Gemeinden''). Below is a list of all the municipalities divided by district: * Hallein District (Tennengau) (13 municipalities): Abtenau, Adnet,

Annaberg-Lungötz Annaberg-Lungötz is a municipality in the district of Hallein, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography The municipality lies in the Lammer River valley at the foot of the Gosaukamm. History It belonged for centuries to the Pongau. Only in ...

, Bad Vigaun,

Golling an der Salzach Golling an der Salzach is a market town in the Hallein district of Salzburg, Austria. Geography It is located on the southern rim of the ''Tennengau'' region south of the city of Salzburg. Here at the confluence of the Salzach and its Lammer trib ...

, Krispl, Kuchl, Oberalm, Puch bei Hallein, Rußbach am Paß Gschütt, St. Koloman, Scheffau am Tennengebirge. * Salzburg-Umgebung District (Flachgau) (37 municipalities): Anif, Anthering, Bergheim, Berndorf bei Salzburg,

Bürmoos Bürmoos is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria. History Bürmoos was founded in 1967, making it the most recently created municipality in the state, by combining the outskirts of the neighbour ...

, Dorfbeuern, Ebenau, Elixhausen,

Elsbethen Elsbethen is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography The town lies directly south of the federal state capital, Salzburg, and borders Flachgau. Parts of the town have become infrastruct ...

, Eugendorf, Faistenau, Fuschl am See, Großgmain, Göming,

Grödig Grödig is a market town of Salzburg-Umgebung District in the state of Salzburg in Austria. Geography Grödig is located south of the Salzburg city limits in the historic ''Flachgau'' region, near the border with Bavaria, Germany. The market t ...

, Hallwang, Henndorf am Wallersee, Hintersee, Hof bei Salzburg, Koppl, Köstendorf,

Lamprechtshausen Lamprechtshausen (Central Bavarian: ‘’Låmbéhausen’’) is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg in Austria. Geography Lamprechtshausen lies in the north of the district of Salzburg-U ...

, Mattsee,

, Nußdorf am Haunsberg,

, Obertrum, Plainfeld, St. Georgen bei Salzburg, St. Gilgen, Schleedorf, Seeham, Seekirchen am Wallersee, Straßwalchen, Strobl, Thalgau,

. * St. Johann im Pongau District (Pongau) (25 municipalities): Altenmarkt im Pongau,

Bad Gastein Bad Gastein ( is a spa town in the St. Johann im Pongau District. Picturesquely situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range, it is known for the Gastein waterfall and a variety of grand hotel buildings. Geography Bad Gastein i ...

, Bad Hofgastein,

, Dorfgastein, Eben im Pongau, Filzmoos, Flachau, Forstau, Goldegg,

Grossarl Grossarl (Großarl) is a market town in the St. Johann im Pongau (district), St. Johann im Pongau district in the Salzburg (state), state of Salzburg in western central Austria. The valley Grossarltal got its name from Grossarl. Geography Loca ...

, Hüttau, Hüttschlag, Kleinarl, Mühlbach am Hochkönig,

Pfarrwerfen Pfarrwerfen is a municipality in the St. Johann im Pongau District, St. Johann im Pongau district in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Geography Pfarrwerfen lies in the Pongau. References Gallery File:Pöham, straatzicht met ...

, Radstadt, St. Johann im Pongau, St. Martin am Tennengebirge, St. Veit im Pongau,

Schwarzach im Pongau Schwarzach im Pongau is a market town in the St. Johann im Pongau District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography It is located in the valley of the Salzach river, between the Hohe Tauern mountain range (Goldberg and Ankogel groups) in th ...

, Untertauern, Wagrain, Werfen, Werfenweng. *

(Lungau) (15 municipalities): Göriach, Lessach,

Mariapfarr Mariapfarr is a municipality in the district of Tamsweg in the state of Salzburg in Austria. Famous as the location of the Christmas carol Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber ...

, Mauterndorf, Muhr, Ramingstein, St. Andrä im Lungau, St. Margarethen im Lungau, St. Michael im Lungau, Tamsweg, Thomatal, Tweng, Unternberg,

Weißpriach Weißpriach is a municipality in the district of Tamsweg in the state of Salzburg in Austria. It is located in a valley of the Niedere Tauern mountain range. History Weißpriach is known for the Romanesque church of Saint Rupert with its Byzan ...

, Zederhaus. *

(Pinzgau) (28 municipalities): Bramberg am Wildkogel, Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße, Dienten am Hochkönig, Fusch an der Großglocknerstraße, Hollersbach im Pinzgau, Kaprun, Krimml, Lend,

Leogang Leogang is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (district), Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg in Austria. It is a famous winter sports and summer mountain hiking resort. Population Sights :Mining ...

, Lofer, Maishofen, Maria Alm, Mittersill, Neukirchen am Großvenediger, Niedernsill, Piesendorf, Rauris,

Saalbach-Hinterglemm Saalbach-Hinterglemm is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (district), Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the Austrian States of Austria, state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. It is well known for its skiing and other winter sports. A four ...

, Saalfelden, St. Martin bei Lofer, Stuhlfelden, Taxenbach,

Unken Unken is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the state of Salzburg in Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federat ...

, Uttendorf, Viehhofen, Wald im Pinzgau, Weißbach bei Lofer,

Economy

The federal state's gross domestic product (GDP) was 29 billion € in 2018, accounting for 7.5% of the Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 46,500 € or 154% of the EU27 average in the same year. Salzburg is the federal state with the highest GDP per capita in Austria before Vienna.

Architecture

The

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 ...

was the first Baroque building in the German-speaking artistic world. Two other important buildings initiated by the Salzburg archbishops were Hohenwerfen Castle and

Hohensalzburg Fortress Hohensalzburg Fortress () is a large medieval fortress in the city of Salzburg, Austria. It sits atop the Festungsberg mountain at an altitude of 506 m. It was erected at the behest of the prince-archbishops of Salzburg. The fortress is long a ...

. The first

Archbishop of Salzburg The Archdiocese of Salzburg (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin rite archdiocese of the Catholic Church centered in Salzburg, Austria. It is also the principal diocese of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian ...

was

Arno of Salzburg Arno, Arn or Aquila (c. 750–821) was bishop of Salzburg, and afterwards its first archbishop. He preserved his voluminous correspondence from the scholar Alcuin of York. Early years He entered the church at an early age, and after passing ...

(785–821), in whose honor the world-famous hiking circuit — the Arnoweg — is named. The predominant stylistic elements of Salzburg's architecture have their origins in 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 ...

and the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

periods. Salzburg City's historic centre was named by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Language

The official

working language A working language (also procedural language) is a language that is given a unique legal status in a supranational company, society, state or other body or organization as its primary means of communication. It is primarily the language of the dai ...

Austrian German Austrian German (), Austrian Standard German (ASG), Standard Austrian German (), Austrian High German (), or simply just Austrian (), is the variety of Standard German written and spoken in Austria and South Tyrol. It has the highest prestige ( ...

, and it can be heard especially in the cities and formal contexts. The

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

language, typically spoken in informal settings and rural areas in Salzburg, is Bavarian.

Visitors' attractions

* Eisriesenwelt: the largest ice cave in the world * Großglockner Hochalpenstraße: a panoramic road, called ''Grossglockner High Alpine Road'' *

Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (, ; ) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. The main river of the region is the Traun (r ...

: a lake district situated in Salzburg State,

and

* Liechtensteinklamm: Salzburg is home to one of the longest and deepest gorges of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, the ''Liechtensteinklamm''. It is located near

Sankt Johann im Pongau St. Johann im Pongau (''Saiga Håns'' or ''Sainig Håns'' in the local Pongau dialect, abbreviated St.Johann/Pg.) is a city in the States of Austria, state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg, Austria. It is the administrative centre of the St. Johann ...

or ''St.Johann/Pg.'', a small town in the centre of the federal state. *

Nonnberg Abbey Nonnberg Abbey () is a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Salzburg, Austria. Founded by Saint Rupert of Salzburg, it is the oldest continuously existing convent, nunnery in the German-speaking world. The monastery complex is today ...

: a Benedictine monastery that was immortalized in the movie ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

Sports

Salzburgring The Salzburgring is a motorsport race track located in Plainfeld, east of Salzburg. Key facts Track Length Bends 15 Straights ...

, a permanent racing circuit, north east of the city of

* Ski Amadé * Kitzsteinhorn, skiing the year round on a glacier * Icespeedway in St. Johann im Pongau *

Aperschnalzen Aperschnalzen (Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ''Apaschnoizn'') is an old tradition of competitive whipcracking revived in the first half of the 20th century in Bavaria and Salzburg. The word "aper" means "area free of snow" in the Bavarian lan ...

, an old tradition of competitive

whipcracking Whipcracking is the act of producing a cracking sound through the use of a whip. Used during livestock driving and horse riding, it has also become an art. A rhythmic whipcracking belongs to the traditional culture among various Germanic peoples ...

Ski resorts

Altenmarkt im Pongau, Flachau, Wagrain, St. Johann,

(

), Obertauern,

, Rauris, Lofer, Hochkönig, Krispl

Assorted statistics

* Tourist Regions: 21 * Resort Towns: 115 * Guest Beds: 192,000 * Lakes: 185 * Biggest lake: Wolfgangsee * Longest river:

* Highest mountain: Großvenediger — elevation * Hiking paths: * Hill farms: 1,800 — 550 of them serving refreshments * National parks: 1 * Marked cycle paths: * Mountainbike trails (including cross-border routes): * Golf courses: 13 * Ski slopes: * Cross-country ski trails: * Night slopes: 14 * Winter hiking paths:

Notes

References

External links

*
Salzburg Tourism

{{coord, 47.42, N, 13.22, E, display=title NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union States of Austria

Geography

Location

Regions

Major cities and towns

History

Salzburg as an independent state

Electorate of Salzburg

The end of independence

Bavarian Salzburg

The country divided between Bavaria and Austria

World War I

Post-World War I Austrian republics

Salzburg in Germany

American control

Salzburg as an Austrian federal state

Demographics

Politics

Government

Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP/h3> * State Direction * Finance and Asset Management * Security * Disaster Prevention * Museums * Research and Science * European Affairs

1st Deputy Marlene Svazek (FPÖ/h3> * Nature and Environment Protection * Business * Early and Primary Education * Hunting and Fishing * Youth * Families * Integration * Generations

2nd Deputy Stefan Schnöll (ÖVP/h3> * Economy and Tourism * Communities * Employment and Labour Market * Infrastructure and Traffic * Culture

Administrative divisions

Districts

Municipalities

Economy

Architecture

Language

Visitors' attractions

Sports

Ski resorts

Assorted statistics

Notes

References

External links

Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP

/h3>
* State Direction * Finance and Asset Management * Security * Disaster Prevention * Museums * Research and Science * European Affairs

1st Deputy Marlene Svazek (FPÖ

/h3>
* Nature and Environment Protection * Business * Early and Primary Education * Hunting and Fishing * Youth * Families * Integration * Generations

2nd Deputy Stefan Schnöll (ÖVP

/h3>
* Economy and Tourism * Communities * Employment and Labour Market * Infrastructure and Traffic * Culture