Salzburg -Austria 3 Nights in Salzburg - The city of Mozart
General information about the city 145.000 habitants - Originally a Celtic settlement and later a Roman trading center called Juvavum, the town developed in the early 8th century. In about 696 St Rupert established a bishopric there, which was subsequently elevated to an archbishopric with authority over the dioceses of Bavaria. Over time the archbishops became increasingly involved in temporal matters and in the 13th century were granted the titles of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. Wolf Dietrich von Raintenau (1587-1612) was one of the most influential archbishops and instigated the city's baroque reconstruction. In 1816 Salzburg finally became part to Austria under the Habsburgs. During WWII over 40 percent of Salzburg's buildings were destroyed or badly damaged. Historically the economic strength of the city was built on mining, both gold and salt, although salt (the so-called 'white gold') has been more important since Celtic times. Salz is German for salt and Salzburg literally means 'Castle/Fortress of Salt'. Another important factor in Salzburg's preeminence as a modern day tourist mecca was the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1756. Although the city didn't pay too much heed to him back then, his legacy is promoted to within an inch of a snow-dome tourist souvenir these days.
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