During our stay in Salzburg, Austria we walked from the hotel to the Mirabel Gardens several times and even attended a concert in the palace one evening. The gardens are lovely with new things opening up daily so there were surprises and delights with each visit. The photo on the card was taken from the gardens looking toward the castle that was featured in a previous postcard Thursday. Hans-Jörg Murenwald, Edition Murenwald bei Colorama, took the picture.
The palace and gardens are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are part of the historic central area of Salzburg. The Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau had the palace built in 1606. The name Mirabel was attached in 1612 and comes from the Italian mirabile, bella meaning amazing or wonderful. The palace has undergone several changes, for example in 1710 it was rebuilt in a Baroque style and in 1818 it was restored to a Neoclassical style following a fire. The gardens are arranged in geometric patterns with statues from mythology, some dating as early as 1690. The rose garden is shown in the foreground of the postcard photo.
Salzburg is known for being the birthplace of Mozart and also as the “Sound of Music” city with parts of the movie filmed at Mirabel. The palace and gardens are also popular locations for weddings.
Looking toward the palace from the entry into the gardens
Garden flowers
Looking the opposite direction toward the castle fortress on the hill
Garden flowers
Looking the opposite direction toward the castle fortress on the hill
Tree lined pathway with convenient benches
Mimes or living statues stood at this corner in the garden. They did move and pose with visitors but for extremely long periods of time they simply stood like a statue.
Musicians like this man playing the harp were here everyday near a small outdoor café. Each day someone is playing a different instrument.
The fountain seen in the movie “Sound of Music”
Rose Garden
Trees trained to grow on the trellis form a covered shady arbor to walk through on a warm sunny day
From a outdoor balcony looking toward the hill and the castle
Inside the palace . . .
The evening concerts at the palace are held in this room
The grand staircase
By evening light . . .
For more about Mirabel see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabell_Palace
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