Food Local
The Best Cafés in Salzburg
Two things get confused in Salzburg, and once you separate them the cafés sort themselves out. Good coffee is one thing. The Austrian coffee house is another. They overlap far less than you would expect.
Watch & Read
Stories from the notebook
The longer pieces: history that changes how the city looks when you walk it.
Sacred Heritage
Fischer von Erlach in Salzburg: The Architect Behind the Skyline
If you have seen Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, the most visited building in Austria, you have seen the work of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. He designed it. He also designed the Karlskirche, the National Library, and much of imperial Vienna's monumental face.
Mozart
Mozart's Death: The Skull, the Grave, and What We Actually Know
Mozart died in Vienna on 5 December 1791. He was thirty-five. We do not know what killed him. We do not know where he is buried. A skull that spent over a century in the Mozarteum probably is not his. And the family grave in Salzburg contains people who, according to DNA, are not related to each other.
Mozart
The Mozart Family and St. Gilgen
Mozart never visited St. Gilgen. His mother was born there. His sister lived there for seventeen years. His grandfather and brother-in-law are buried in the churchyard. The village square is named after him. He never came.
Mozart
What Most Mozart Guides Get Wrong
Every week on my tours, someone asks about Salieri. Every week I explain that Amadeus is a film, not a documentary. That is only the beginning. The popular version of Mozart's life is a mix of half-truths, romantic exaggeration, and Hollywood invention. Here are the things most guides repeat that do not hold up.
Mozart
Nannerl: The Mozart Nobody Talks About
Maria Anna Mozart was four and a half years older than her brother and just as talented. As a child, she toured the royal courts of Europe alongside Wolfgang, performing for kings and emperors. The audiences could not tell which sibling was more gifted. Some thought she was better.
Mozart
The Original Mozartkugel: A Legal Battle in Chocolate
The original Mozartkugel is wrapped in blue and silver foil, made by hand, and sold only in Salzburg. The one you see at every airport and supermarket in Austria, the red and gold version, is a mass-produced copy that has nothing to do with the man who invented it.
Habsburg
The Prince-Archbishops: How Salzburg Ruled Itself for 1000 Years
Salzburg was not part of Austria for most of its history. That single fact explains nearly everything about the way the city looks, why it feels different from Vienna, and why there is a fortress on the hill.
Sacred Heritage
What Is Baroque? Salzburg and the Art Movement That Shaped a City
Every visitor to Salzburg walks through baroque architecture without knowing what that word actually means. The guides say 'baroque' and point at a church. The audio guide says 'baroque facade' and moves on.
Mozart
Why Mozart Hated Salzburg
Mozart did not leave Salzburg quietly. He was kicked out. Literally. Count Arco, the Archbishop's chamberlain, kicked him in the backside and threw him out of the room. Mozart was twenty-five. He never came back.