Nature & Parks In Salzburg
Most people know about the large Renaissance garden in northernmost Hellbrunn Palace Park. The once holy Anifer Alterbach nature area is located in the southern side of the park. Notable are also the baroque Mirabell Gardens with their Hedge Theater, Dwarf Garden, and Bastion Garden. Neustadt’s Kurgarten is rather close to the Mirabell Gardens. Deep under the ground, the ruins of once-powerful Lodron’s St. Vitalis stronghold have been conserved.
Originally Villa Preuschen’s garden, the Aigen-Abfalter Preuschenpark was the ancient Abfalterhof. Early 20th century Maxglan mayor and villa owner Stölzl’s garden was the Stölzlpark in Maxglan-Burgfried. Historic gardens developed into the Baron-Schwarz-Park in the Schallmoos area. It was intended to replace the Schallmooshof garden and, finally, the sizable Baron Schwarz residence garden.
Originally called Franz-Josefs-Park, the Volksgarten in Parsch was rebuilt on the site of the Brothäuslau to honor Emperor Franz Joseph I’s 50th year of rule. For Salzburg’s residents, it is still a local leisure spot. The same period saw the construction of the central section of the Donnenbergpark in Nonntal. It grew several times from the garden of the Nonntal elderly house.
Constructed on a sizable dump that underwent recultivation in 1967 and opened to the public as a swimming pool and several small quarry ponds, the Salzachsee leisure area is located near the Salzachseesiedlung and has park-like character. Remnant of the ancient Au, the Lehener Park is located in Lehen, in the city center. Salzburg AG gave the Dr. Hans Lechner Park in Schallmoos to Salzburg citizens in 1996.
Salzburg’s appeal is much enhanced by its natural surroundings and gardens. Every garden and park has special appeal on its own. Whether in a modern nature park or a lavish collection of old-world gardens, every guest could discover a peaceful refuge.
Hellbrunn Avenue
Designed by Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus von Hohenems in 1615, Hellbrunner Allee in Salzburg, Austria, is the oldest stately avenue in Central Europe still under continuous use. From the east door of Hellbrunn Palace to the moated fortification of Freisaal in the Nonntal area, a 2.8 km straight road runs. It comprises several stately houses in addition to a bike and walking path across the Freisaal protected landscape area. Freisaal Castle Since 1933, the avenue has been preserved as a natural monument; since 1986, it has also been included into Salzburg’s protected landscape. Centered on the avenue, the Hellbrunn Landscape Garden around Hellbrunn Palace Park
Comprising three sections—the geometric pleasure garden, the large hunting garden, and the natural holy garden in the south—Hellbrunner Allee is a late Renaissance garden. Designed as part of the Hellbrunn pleasure palace, it was built between 1613 and 1615. The Hellbrunn landscape garden boasts the best-preserved Renaissance water works and the Renaissance landscape garden overall from Europe. It is Italian style. Along with Salzburg, the avenue stands as the best and most valuable source of old wood in the province.
Kurgarten
Connected to the famous Mirabell Gardens, the Kurgarten is a lovely area in Neustadt found in Salzberg. Mirabell Gardens and Mirabell Palace in the old town lie north of the spa grounds. Founded in 1868, the park is named after the original spa house, sometimes known as the “Actien-Badehaus.” Purchased by Salzburg in 1872, the house was restored so that the Kursaal might open in 1873. Built on the site of the former entry hall destroyed during World War II, the new conference center and Hotel Sheraton of the city
The Salzburg panorama, a joint work of Johann Michael Sattler, Friedrich Loos, and Johann Josef Schindler, was housed in a special garden pavillion in the Kurgarten. These days, the panorama and cosmoramas are kept in the Panorama Museum housed within the new residence. Near the Kurhaus, which features Paracelsusbad an indoor pool, are the Kongresshaus and Hotel Sheraton. This area features another incredible marble monument created by Josef Thorak depicting the well-known physician and thinker Paracelsus.
Mirabell Garden
Among the most often visited tourist sites in Salzburg, the Rechts Altstadt’s Mirabell Gardens serve as the grounds for Mirabell Palace. Along with all outbuildings and horticultural monuments, the whole complex is listed as a monument and housed within Salzburg’s UNESCO World Heritage Historic Center.
Apart from the dwarf garden, the baroque sculptures were mainly kept intact. Additionally changed were the location and form of the orangery and the sala terrena, which was rebuilt several times. Renovated for Prince Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun in 1687, the Mirabell Gardens were designed entirely by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Around 1720, the architect and court garden inspector Franz Anton Danreiter rebuilt the building in minor portions; around 1730, he rebuilt the major portions.
With his ornamental vases, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach built the marble balustrades around the big garden parterre. About 1730 Anton Danreiter made major changes to the statuary arrangement and balustrade. The later-modified statue arrangement also drew on ideas of Fischer von Erlach.
Aigner Park
A popular leisure spot since 1780, Aigner Park is located at Salzburg’s southern edge near the foot of the Gaisberg. Attracting writers and artists enthralled with its winding lanes, little nook, and magical ravines, the park first gained reputation as an outdoor museum.
The park boasts several distinct elements including paths, grottos, viewpoints, and waterfalls. These elements explain its significance as a major monument in the field of early nineteenth-century landscape gardening. The area’s artistic value has earned it designation as a protected natural area. Among the area’s most famous sites are a classicistic stone-block sluice bridge from 1800, a healing spring, and the “Pulpit,” a lookout platform with an amazing view of the Alpine landscape.
For those who enjoy outdoor activities, the S3 suburban rail and the No. 7 trolley bus give quick access to the park. From behind Schloss Aigen, a trail known as the Schwarzenberg promenade leads to the Felberbach stream entering the park. Following several instructional signs will help guests to follow the historical path of this area.
Salzburg Zoo
Salzburg Zoo is a sizable 14-hectare park located in Austria, originally known as Tiergarten Salzburg or Tiergarten Hellbrunin. More than 1500 species of animals call home. Besides, the zoo employs roughly fifty diligent people.
One of the main educational institutions, the zoo aims to meet the habitat needs of its animals by means of environmental enhancement and modification. Maintaining many animal species in one facility aims to promote interspecies interaction. The Natural Sciences Faculty of the University of Salzburg and the zoo have often worked together as part of their research projects.
The three continents the park divides are Eurasia, America, and Australia. The northern part of Eurasia serves to show the species of both continents. Guests may now interact more closely with the alpine ibexes after reconstruction of their facility in 2012. The park’s European part features facilities for woodland reindeer and European wolves. Moreover, a feeding area is set aside for free flying griffon vultures.
Untersberg
The Untersberg massif of the Berchtesgaden Alps forms Germany’s border with Austria. Rising at 1,973 meters, the Berchtesgaden Hochthron is highest point. The mountain gained popularity all around because of its looks as the “distinctive, lopsided peak” in the 1965 motion picture The Sound of Music.
Comprising Johann Nepomuk von Poißl, the opera Der Untersberg from 1829 is praised by its title. Situated on the edge of the Northern Limestone Alps, the Untersberg lies adjacent to the Salzach Valley and the Salzburg Basin. The mountain is a popular tourist destination because of its close proximity to Salzburg—less than 16 kilometers south of the city center—which Easy access to the mountain comes from bus lines heading to two southern suburbs, Grödig and Großgmain.
Travelers’ most often used choice is the Untersbergbahn cable car, which carries them 1,776 meters from the lower terminus at Sankt Leonhard to the top station on the Geiereck spur. The summit of the mountain stands286 meters above sea level. Eberwein, a Berchtesgaden Augustinian monastery resident, made the first documented climb of the Untersberg.
Hans Donnenberg Park
Hans-Donnenberg-Park is situated in the Riedenburg area of Salzburg, more exactly in the southeast.
Starting under the municipal retirement home, the road climbs above the edge of the cemetery terrace and runs all the way to the Thumegger district in the Gneis area. The first Salzburg permanent allotment garden settlement borders the western side of the area; a historic military cemetery lies at its southern end. The park bears Hans Donnenberg’s name in remembrance of Salzburg municipal politician who died in 1964. At the northern end as well is the municipal garden center.
Nestled in the southwest corner of the park, the 17,300 square meter playground In this space, which also features leisure facilities including a climbing garden and table tennis, mature and recently planted trees live harmoniously. Near the kids’ playground sits a cell phone mast.
Leopoldskron pond
Leopoldskroner Weiher lake in Salzburg is a protected local recreation area south of the Mönchsberg. It offers a peaceful environment where visitors might stroll leisurely.
Breat-taking views of Salzburg’s beautiful surroundings—including the well-known Leopoldskron Palace, Hohensalzburg Fortress, and Gaisberg mountain—are provided by the shoreline of the lake. The lake’s measurements are 650 meters long by roughly 220 meters wide.
Among the many other species there are frogs, carp, pike, grey geese, ducks, and swans. The city parks department maintains this area year-round, thus swimming and ice skating are not allowed here.
Salzkammergut
Beginning in Salzburg eastward along the Alpine Foreland and Northern Limestone Alps, the Salzkammergut is a breathtaking resort area in Austria that culminates at the Dachstein Mountains. Main river in the area is the Traun, a right tributary of the Danube.
From 1745 until 1850, the Salzkammergut salt mines were under control by the Imperial Salzoberamt at Gmunden. The area the Habsburg princes of the Holy Roman Empire ruled is known as the “salt domain.” UNESCO assigned some of the area World Heritage Site status in 1997. Defining the area are elevated bogs, glacial lakes, several mountain ranges including Mt. Traunstein, the Dachstein Mountains, the Totes Gebirge, the Upper Austrian Prealps, and the Salzkammergut Mountains.
Not formally acknowledged as an administrative area of Austria, the Salzkammergut has unclear boundaries. Since 2002, Salzkammergut Tourismus-Marketing GmbH has aggressively been marketing the area as a travel destination.
Mönchsberg
Popular local recreation area with meadows and forests, the 500-meter-long Mönchsberg is situated in the heart of Salzburg. Named for the Benedictine monks of St. Peter’s Abbey, this road runs from Festungsberg to Mülln following the Salzach River. At its highest point the road climbs to 508 meters. The area is a well-liked recreational spot for both locals and tourists since it presents a great range of paths for urban hikers.
Both sports enthusiasts and environmentalists will find plenty of green areas, woodland walks, and beautiful flora on the road. There are breathtaking sweeping views of Salzburg’s rooftops at places fit for scenic observation. On the Mönchsberg, the same building housing Restaurant m32 also houses the Museum der Moderne. The restaurant welcomes customers with a big, sunny patio and presents unique points of view.
Kapuzinerberg
Popular among city hikers and outdoor fitness buffs, the 640-meter-high Kapuzinerberg is a popular leisure spot located near the Salzach River. On the top there are churches, an abbey, hiking paths, and even a unique colony of chamois. Approached by a walkway is the Capuchin Abbey, the first united noviciate of all German-speaking Capuchin provinces. From the Capuchin monastery, Imbergkirche church, and Hettwerbastei, there are different points of view about the Hohensalzburg Fortress and the old neighborhood.
One popular excursion and rest stop is the 400-year-old defensive walls known as Franziski-Schlössl. Apart from that, the Kapuzinerberg boasts a bust honoring Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the “Paschinger-Schlößl,” a villa Stefan Zweig lived from 1919 to 1934. Closed during the breeding season, the fixed-cable climb known as the “City Wall” is open July through March. Hikers on the city’s paths that climb and wind across the Kapuzinerberg can enjoy nature.
Festungsberg
The well-known Festungsberg lies exactly in the middle of Salzburg’s mediaeval area. Above it stands the Hohensalzburg Fortress, a well-known Salzburg emblem. Rising to 542 meters, the Festungsberg dominates the city by roughly 120 meters. The Kapuzinerberg is the sole point higher in the city than the mountain. This is the perfect place for people that enjoy urban hiking and the great outdoors. The Hohensalzburg Fortress, perched on its crest, is the biggest intact fortification in Central Europe.
Underneath the Bürgermeisterloch, the deep forest area known as the “Scharte” divides the Festungsberg from the adjacent Mönchsberg. There are several routes to reach the summit of the Festungsberg. Johann Michael Haydn’s rebuilt house at Festungsgasse 4 is the Valley End of the Fortress Funicular. Originally operational in 1892, the funicular ascended a vertical distance of roughly 100 metres. Currently operating in Austria is the oldest funicular there is.
Gaisberg
The Gaisberg mountain, near Salzburg’s historic center, rises impressively at 1287 meters. Apart from opportunities for environmental preservation, it offers the perfect setting for several leisure activities including hiking. This year-round, easily accessible site is kid-friendly. It presents opportunity for dining, games, and outdoor physical exercise.
The Gaisberg is a rather well-known location for summertime events including road cycling, mountain biking, and hiking. Adventure seekers can also enjoy exhilarating paragliding experiences; aficionados for vintage cars can watch the exciting Gaisberg Race. Winter presents opportunities for cross-country and ski touring as well as for maintained hiking paths and trails. From the top, public bus No. 151 offers breathtaking views over a large area including Salzburg, the Salzburg Lake District, Bavaria, the Göll Massif, and the Tennengebirge.
Including the No. 151 bus, all public buses driving you to the beginning of surrounding hiking paths are free to ride with the Salzburg Card. Refreshers are provided to guests by several eateries and shelters including Kasnocknwirt, the Rauchenbühelhütte, Kohlmayr’s Gaisbergspitz, and the Goasnalm. The Zistelalm and Gersbergalm are well-known hotels with outstanding dining options on top of their lodging.
