Von Trapp's home

Photo: Lake Leopoldskroner Weiher and the palace at the back.  

Do you see the palace at the background of the picture above? That's Schloss Leopoldskron on the homonymous lake shore. It is a rococo style palace built back in 1731 by the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. Its fame came after the filming of "The Sound of Music" - being the main scenario as Von Trapp family villa. Even though, the interior scenes were never filmed in this palace but in an adjacent property called Bertelsmann. 

Since 1947 the palace hosts annually the Salzburg Global Seminar to debate and solve issues concerning all kind of topics and, since 2014, it plays also the role of a luxurious hotel.

There are several other scenes filmed in Salzburg city centre, all of them with an historical interest deserved to see. For example, Alte Residenz was home to city's archbishops during centuries and since 1923 it holds the Residenzgalerie (art museum). On the other hand, Schloss Mirabell was an originally Baroque building built in 1606 as love gift, but a big fire destroyed it so it was rebuilt in a Neoclassical style. Famous architect Erlach von Fischer designed those magical gardens in the late 17th century, including lots of mythological statues, a palm house, million roses and even a hedge theater. I personally loved those gardens since there are several nice viewpoints, specially the Pegasusbrunnen (fountain) with Mirabell gardens and Hohensalzburg fortress as background. Also, Stift Nonnberg at the fortress' foothill represents one of the oldest Benedictine nunneries in the world, dating back from 714. Most of those places are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List together with Salzburg's old town. 

Photo: View over Schloss Mirabell (left), its gardens and the Hohensalzburg fortress at the back.