Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Salzburg

During our visit of the Hohensalzburg we were most impressed by the Fürstenzimmer , located in the main building. These Prince’s Chambers, consisting of the Golden Hall, the Golden Chamber and the archbishop’s bedchamber. The furnishings in all of these rooms are original and have remained unchanged since 1501/1502. We were a little bit unlucky as in one of the rooms were restorations work was in progress. Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach had the magnificent state apartments installed, which were primarily used for representative purposes and for festivities. The Golden Hall was richly decorated and indicates that Hohensalzburg was not only a refuge in times of crisis, but frequently also a residence up to the 16th century. The Golden Hall has four massive marble pillars and one 17 meters long beam, supporting the ceiling. The Golden Chamber and the bedchamber both have stunning gothic wood carvings. The Golden Chamber has benches along the walls, decorated with grapes, foliage and animals. The smallest room is the Archbishop’s bedchamber with even a private bathroom. It has also a richly decorated tile stove. The ceilings of the three rooms are coffered, each coffer being adorned with gold buttons, symbolizing the stars in the sky.

Fortress Hohensalzburg - more than 900 years old - is a completely walled castle. It towers high above Salzburg (PiP1), on the top of the Festungsberg . With a length of 250 meters and a width of 150 meters, it is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe and looks more or less like a small village (PiP2). Hohensalzburg was built in 1077 on behalf of archbishop Gebhard and has been inhabited by the prince-bishops of Salzburg for centuries. In 1462, the castle was fortified with four towers. Under archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach the fortress was extended from 1495 until 1519. Since the middle of the 17th century, no large-scale changes have taken place. Hohensalzburg was only besieged once during the German Peasants’ War (1524-1526). But it has never been captured by foreign troops and has therefore been preserved in good condition. During the Napoleonic Wars, the last prince-bishop fled to Vienna and the castle was abandoned without resistance. Hohensalzburg also served as a prison for a long time. Bishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau was imprisoned here until his death. He lived at the height of Salzburg's salt wealth and helped the city to build many beautiful buildings. However, he had a 'secret' wife and 15 children. When he had built the beautiful Mirabell Castle with gardens for that woman and children, the Pope in Rome thought it was enough and had the bishop imprisoned in Hohensalzburg. Until the Second World War, the fortress was a prison. It is now primarily an event venue and one of the city's main tourist attractions. A number of artists live in Hohensalzburg and the buildings are also home to three museums. From the fortress one has a wonderful view of the historical city of Salzburg and its surroundings (PiP3). For me the highlight of my visit were Princes’ Chambers .

The Petersfriedhof (St. Peter's Cemetery) is a cemetery that looks more like a ‘park’. This oldest Christian cemetery in Salzburg is a quiet green oasis in the busy historical centre of the city. The cemetery is located at the foot of the Festungsberg . Petersfriedhof is probably of the same age as the St. Peter’s Abbey, which dates from the year 696. The cemetery is surrounded on three sides by arcades and there are ancient graves of monks and inhabitants of Salzburg. Originally, this cemetery was only intended for residents of the monastery. Later, civilians were also buried in this atmospheric cemetery. The oldest surviving tombstone of the cemetery is that of abbot Dietmar, who died in 1288. The cemetery was closed in 1878 and the site decayed until in 1930 the monks of St. Peter's successfully urged for the admission of new burials. In the middle of the cemetery stands the gothic Margarethenkapelle (Margaret Chapel) from 1491 (PiP4). On the outside wall of this chapel there are many old marble tombstones.