Sound of Movies: Musical Tour from Vienna to Salzburg

Please arrive 15 minutes before departure at the Vienna Tourist Information, Albertinaplatz, Maysedergasse, 1010 Vienna

After one and a half hour we will make a short coffee break at a quality restaurant on a highway, where you can relax and enjoy a comfortable rustic atmosphere and stretch your legs during your break.

A large cathedral dominates the small town of Mondsee. It was once the heart of an important monastery. Founded in 748 on the ruins of a roman settlement, it influenced the culture of the region for more than a thousand years until it was dissolved in 1792. The wedding scene in the movie was filmed here, Maria, led by Liesl, walked down the aisle to meet the baron in front of the main altar.

St. Gilgen is situated on another popular lake of the Salzkammergut, the Wolfgangsee. Mozart’s mother, Anna Pertl, was born here. That is why a little Mozart museum has been set up in the city center.

Its characteristic, large, symmetrical flowerbeds make this garden a good example of a typical Baroque park.

It was built in the 18th century following the plans of the famous architect Fischer von Erlach. Countless statues inspired by Greek myths can be seen throughout the park which is centered by a big fountain. In the film, Maria and the children danced around the Fountain singing “Do-Re-Mi”.

The Pegasus fountain next to the 17th century palace can also be spotted in the movie. The stairs leading up to the rose hill were part of the choreography as well.

The Residence Fountain is 15 meters high and the largest baroque fountain outside Italy. It was built between 1658 and 1661, possibly by Italian artist Tommaso di Garona, and is made of marble from the Untersberg, a mountain near Salzburg. Its water-spouting horses reached world fame thanks to their appearance in the movie. Maria stopped at the fountain to splash water at the horses while singing “I have confidence”.

For the construction of the cathedral rocks were cut out from the Moenchsberg. In 1693, Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun decided to use this cavity in the mountain and had a riding school built in which tournaments were held.

Today this building is a theater and one of the venues situated in the Festival District. The “real” Trapp family sang here at a choir competition. In the motion picture, Christopher Plummer sang “Edelweiss” while their escape was organized behind the curtain.

The Horse Pond next to the Festival Building is another sight a lot of people associate with The Sound of Music. It was built in 1695 by Austrian architect Fischer von Erlach. Before being part of this movie, it served as a watering place for the Archbishop’s riding stables.

St. Peter’s District is really the oldest part of Salzburg. The first monks, headed by Saint Rupert, settled here. The rest of the city started to spread out slowly around the monastery. Today you can still see catacombs cut in the rock of the Moechsberg and originating from 215 A.D.

St. Peter’s cemetery is the oldest one in Austria still in use. Only priests and monks were buried here up to the year 1454. The arcades around the cemetery are family vaults from the 17th century with various examples of wrought iron work.

Obviously, St. Peter’s Cemetery was a good inspiration for the movie makers: It was rebuilt in the Hollywood studios for the scene when the Nazis were searching for the von Trapps and the family was hiding behind the tombstones. St. Peter’s Church can also be seen in the opening scene.

The Palace at Leopoldskron is the most beautiful rococo building in the Salzburg region. It was built in 1731 by Archbishop Leopold Count Firmian as a residence for his family.

After 1837, when the Firmian family sold the estate, the building changed owners many times. Leopoldskron was a gallery, then became property of a landlord, and even the King of Bavaria can be found under the list of owners.

When famous writer Max Reinhardt, founder of the Salzburg Festival, bought it in 1918, it was in sad condition. Reinhardt renovated it, however, to its original beauty and used its garden for theater performances. Since 1958, the building has been owned by the “Salzburg Seminar in American Studies”, an institution that focuses on economy problems.

Schloss Leopoldskron was one of the most important locations for the film: The rear view was used for the Trap Family home. The family drank lemonade with the baroness on the terrace. Maria and the baron dance on the balcony during the ball scene, and the children fell into the adjacent lake. The Venetian room from the castle was copied and used as the ballroom for the interior shootings which were done in the studios.

Hellbrunn Palace, just a few kilometers south of the city, was built between 1613 and 1619 under the orders of Markus Sittikus von Hohenems.

As the Archbishop had spent part of his life in Italy he tried to recreate an Italian atmosphere in this castle and its gardens. Unlike many other palaces, Hellbrunn has undergone no style changes and so, even today, the visitor can enjoy the lively southern scenery of this renaissance park.

The artificial water games in Hellbrunn with numerous grottoes, trick fountains and the mechanical toy theater were built to entertain the noble guests of Archbishop Markus Sittikus. The Impressive frescoes in the palace halls are masterpieces of the 17th century by Donato Mascagni From Florence.

The Gazebo at Hellbrunn

One of the main sites from the film is the glass gazebo, setting for various love scenes, like Sixteen Going on Seventeen and Something Good. After a complete renovation, it was reconstructed in the park of Hellbrunn Palace. This is not the original setting, which was the garden of Leopoldskron Palace, but a more accessible one for visitors.