Historical Monuments: Austrian Castles
I grew up in Salzburg. One of the most impressive sights of the city is the castle
called "Festung Hohensalzburg" which thrones majestically above the old town. I don't
know about you, but a castle is a most memorable thing for me when I visit places.
Why? Because it is a landmark nobody can miss. A castle shapes the appearance and
the history of a town. Let us take a closer look at three of those Austrian monuments.
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An archbishop named Gebhard started
the building process in the late 11th century.
Another archbishop finally gave the castle its famous silhouette in the early 16th
century. Just in time, because only a few years later the only threatening war took
place, the Bauernkrieg. And the Festung won!
If you're wondering:
after bombs were invented, the castles provided no more real protection and lost
their military purpose.
In 1997 Salzburg's old town was added to UNESCO's list of
World Heritage sites (see link below for more info).
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It took 450 years to give the
Festung Hohensalzburg
the look of
today (more
pics).
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The castle is huge. There are many living quarters, used today mainly by artists.
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All year long you can listen to concerts and take part in many different classes
and seminars. I simply like getting my exercise walking up the steep path and taking
in the breathtaking view of the city of Salzburg, the surrounding mountains and landscapes.
My most memorable experience was being part of the castle's 900th anniversary
celebration. I played timpani with a small brass ensemble for a TV feature.
We were positioned on top of the trumpeter tower (see picture: highest tower on the
left). Hear a RealAudio excerpt of that TV broadcast.
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The Burg Falkenstein is located in the province of Carinthia near the city
of Obervellach in the Möll valley. It also originates in the 11th century. Today
it is divided into two castles situated on the same mountain, one 600 feet above
the other one. The higher castle is a ruin with a chapel that is still in use. The
other castle is renovated and still inhabited. It was designed to be entered only
from the east for defense purposes. The castle changed owners often throughout the
centuries. At the turn of this century a new owner started a big renovation project.
The picture is a woodcut by the late Austrian artist Fritz Rindler, used by permission of his daughter, Angelika, who presently lives in Carinthia. Please
visit the artists' website
where you can see more of his beautiful artwork. The site is in German, just click
on any link under "Holzschnitte" (woodcuts). |
The Riegersburg you can't miss when you pass through the southeast part of
the province of Styria. Do you agree? The castle is on top of a rock face. It is
a basalt rock (you gotta use your Webster's once in a while). The main part of the
castle was built in the 12th century. In the second half of that century the relationship
with the Hungarian neighbors got worse and the castle became a big factor in the
Austrian military power. Throughout the centuries the upper part of the castle was
constantly changed and expanded. That the castle is in such great shape today is
due to the fact that the same family has owned and maintained it since 1822.
There is a great website with
many more images of the Riegersburg.
In October you can read about The Make-up of a Musician (pun intended) as I will dig deep into my life long experiences as a professional musician. Please check back!
Make sure to visit Florian
at his beautiful bilingual web site at Vienna/Opera/4151. You can hear the professional musician sing,
yodel, play the piano and more, and learn about his concert activities. Recent enhancements
include HTML help and an anonymous comment box. Florian will travel around the world
to perform for you!
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