Sound of Music

Another huge attraction, at least for American tourists, is The Sound of Music, the 1965 Rodgers and Hammerstein film shot on location in Salzburg and neighboring areas. Reportedly, the Austrians didn't know about the film for a long time and were puzzled at the interest of tourists. They know now and reminders are everywhere. In my hotel room, one channel is devoted to round-the-clock showings of the movie. It's fun to watch for locations you have visited during the day.

You can pick up a list of film location shots at the city's tourist information office on Mozartplatz, complete with the bus routes you need to reach some of them. Commercial sightseeing tours are also available.

This is Residenzplatz, just west of Mozartplatz, filled with booths for the Christmas Market. The Residenz building in the center is the one used in the film to hang the Nazi flag and show a parade of Nazis marching on the diagonal across the square, taking over control of the city.

The fountain in the center of Residenzplatz is covered for protection in the winter and Christmas trees are for sale here. Maria splashed in this fountain in the film on her way out to the Captain’s villa for the first time.

This is the Horse Pond, built at the end of the 17th century to provide a watering place for the Archbishop’s riding stables. Maria and the children dance in front of this in the scene singing "My Favorite Things." This is in the northern area of the city west of the river.

The gardens at Mirabell Palace, on the east side of the river, were the location of some of the "Do-Re-Mi" scenes. Of course, the film was shot in the summer.

At the far western end of the Mirabell Gardens are statues the children mimicked in that scene.

The final concert was shot at Festival Hall, carved out of the side of the mountain below the Fortress. I could not see the inside, as there was a private party when I visited. This is the south side of the Hall where the Nazi commander races up in his car to make sure the Von Trapps do not escape.

You then see the Nazi car stop at this set of stone steps leading into the Hall.

The film has many beautiful aerial shots of the city. I climbed an outdoor flight of steps behind Festival Hall to take this, looking to the south at a view familiar from the film. The Cathedral is in the center, with the Franciscan Church to the left.

Even though this city seems to have a church, cathedral, or abbey on every block, the church used to film the wedding scene is in the little town of Mondsee, which I was not able to visit. Leopoldskron Castle, which was used as the back of the Von Trapp villa, is a bus ride south of the city. The gazebo in several important scenes used to be located there, but it was moved to a park south of the city by Hellbrunn Palace.

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.