Royal Figure
12 February 1768, Florence, Tuscany - 2 March 1835, Vienna
The emperor who made Salzburg Austrian. Following Napoleon’s final defeat, the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) confirmed Salzburg’s permanent incorporation into the Austrian Empire in 1816. That union has lasted to the present day. It was Franz I who definitively ended the centuries of shifting sovereignty and made Salzburg what it remains: an Austrian city.
He was simultaneously the last Holy Roman Emperor (as Franz II) and the first Emperor of Austria (as Franz I), a dual identity that reflects the upheaval of the Napoleonic era. Under him, the ancient Prince-Archbishopric ceased to exist. His domestic policy, guided by the conservative minister Metternich, shaped the political climate of the Biedermeier era.
Locations
Baroque
The official palace and seat of power of the Prince-Archbishops for over 200 years. Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau rebuilt it in grand baroque style. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed for the Archbishop in these very rooms. Troger's frescoes look down from the state rooms. Today the Prunkraume and Residenzgalerie are open to visitors. Directly on Residenzplatz.
