One of the greatest Austrian prose writers. Stifter spent extended time at Bad Ischl and in the Salzkammergut, and the lakes, mountains, and villages of the Austrian Alps suffuse every page he wrote. For any visitor who finds the Salzkammergut landscape affecting, Stifter is the writer who can articulate why.

Major German playwright who lived on a farm near Henndorf am Wallersee in the Salzburg Flachgau from the early 1930s until 1938. When the Nazis annexed Austria, Zuckmayer fled. His autobiography Als war's ein Stuck von mir (A Part of Myself) is acclaimed.

Nobel Prize in Literature laureate (2004). Darkly feminist, politically radical, obsessively critical of Austrian society. Her plays have been staged at the Salzburg Festival. Her novel Die Klavierspielerin (The Piano Teacher) was filmed by Michael Haneke. Like Thomas Bernhard, an unavoidable presence in any map of Austrian cultural life.

One of the most important German-language Expressionist poets, born at Waagplatz 2 in Salzburg's Altstadt in 1887. His dark, image-laden poetry stands as some of the most distinctive work of the early 20th century.

One of the most influential cultural critics of the Vienna Secession era and a significant force in the early Salzburg Festival movement. Bahr lived in Salzburg's Maxglan neighbourhood from 1912, and his house became a gathering point for writers and artists. An intellectual ally of Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Max Reinhardt.

Co-founder of the Salzburg Festival (1920) with Max Reinhardt and Richard Strauss. He wrote Jedermann (Everyman), which has been performed at Domplatz every summer since 1920, the Festival's most iconic event. He also wrote the librettos for Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and Elektra.

One of the most important German-language poets of the 20th century. Bachmann's spare, luminous poetry was read at the Salzburg Festival. Her prose works, including the novel Malina, are landmarks of Austrian postwar literature. She died in Rome from burns sustained in a fire.

Germany's greatest writer. Goethe passed through Salzburg in September 1786 during the Italian journey he immortalised in Italienische Reise. He and Mozart were near-exact contemporaries: Goethe heard the boy Mozart play in Frankfurt in 1763 and never forgot it.

Mozart's librettist for Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi fan tutte. He gave Mozart the words; Mozart gave those words immortality. Da Ponte eventually emigrated to the United States, where he became the first Professor of Italian at Columbia University.

The lyricist who wrote the words to "Edelweiss," "My Favourite Things," "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," and "Do-Re-Mi." With Richard Rodgers, he created The Sound of Music (1959). He died in 1960, five years before the film, and never saw what his last work would become. The lyrical vocabulary through which the whole world now pictures Austria.

Nobel Prize in Literature laureate (2019). His early work Publikumsbeschimpfung (Offending the Audience, 1966) established him as a radical voice in German-language theatre. His Nobel Prize was controversial due to his political positions on the Yugoslav Wars. A major figure in Austrian literary culture with international reach.

One of the most widely translated German-language authors of the 20th century. Zweig lived at Kapuzinerberg 5, Salzburg, from 1919 to 1934. From this house on the forested hill above the right bank, he wrote his celebrated memoir Die Welt von Gestern (The World of Yesterday).

One of the most important and provocative Austrian authors of the 20th century. Bernhard grew up partly in Salzburg and repeatedly targeted the city and its festival culture in his darkly comic, furiously nihilistic work. He died in Gmunden, in the Salzkammergut.

Crime novelist born in Maria Alm in the Hochkonig region of Salzburg State. His detective novels featuring the unconventional investigator Brenner, written in a unique Austrian vernacular compared to Raymond Chandler, were adapted into hugely successful Austrian films. A Salzburg native whose work is rooted in the Austrian landscape.