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

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. 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 Salzburg, Altstadt'') of Salzburg, Austria. First mentioned about 1120, for centuries ...

'' (Old Residence) of the

Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (german: Fürsterzbistum Salzburg; Erzstift Salzburg; Erzbistum Salzburg) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of ...

. It is one of the city's most popular places to visit. Residenzplatz, Salzburg 1

The ''Residenzplatz'' is enclosed by

Salzburg Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Salzburg Cathedral 1.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin map ...

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

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

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 tower ...

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

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

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 edu ...

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

Mozartplatz ''Mozartplatz'', formerly known as ''Michaelsplatz'', is a square in the historic centre (''Altstadt'') 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 an ...

'' leads to

Salzburg Museum Housed in the ' (to which it moved in 2005), the Salzburg Museum is the museum of artistic and cultural history of the city and region of Salzburg, Austria. It originated as the Provincialmuseum and was also previously known as the Museum Carolino- ...

History

The ''Residenzplatz'' was laid out from 1587 onwards at the behest of Prince-Archbishop

Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (26 March 1559 – 16 January 1617) was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1587 to 1612. Life Raitenau was born at Hofen Castle in Lochau, near Bregenz in Further Austria, the son of the Habsburg colonel Hans Werne ...

, 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 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 important figure th ...

. Currently, the square is about to be refurbished, including a new paving and a monument commemorating a

Nazi book burning The Nazi book burnings were a campaign conducted by the German Student Union (, ''DSt'') to ceremonially Book burning, burn books in Nazi Germany and First Austrian Republic, Austria in the 1930s. The books targeted for burning were those viewed ...

conducted at the site on 30 April 1938.

Fountain

The ''Residenzbrunnen'' in the centre of the square was designed by

Tommaso di Garona Tommaso is an Italian given name. It has also been used as a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name A * Tommaso Acquaviva d'Aragona (1600–1672), Roman Catholic prelate * Tommaso Aldrovandini (1653–1736), Italian painter of ...

and erected between 1656 and 1661. The upper basin is topped by a

Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...

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-top mountain is the Berchtesgaden Hochthron at . T ...

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 (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

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

Christmas market A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...

during

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

. 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 that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

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

References

{{Coord, 47.798425, N, 13.0463666667, E, source:dewiki_region:AT-5_scale:1200_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Streets in Salzburg Tourist attractions in Salzburg