Church
The Mülln Church is a late Gothic parish church founded in 1355, sharing its complex with Augustinerbräu Müllner Bräu, the biggest beer hall in Austria. The Augustinians have brewed on this site since the 16th century. Most visitors come for the beer; the church is part of the same visit.
The Mülln district sits just north of the Altstadt, separated from it by the Mönchsberg ridge. The Augustinian friars established their church here in 1355, on the river side of that ridge, and at some point in the 16th century began brewing beer in the monastic complex. The brewing never stopped.
The church itself is Gothic in structure, with a tall tower that is one of the most recognisable silhouettes when approaching Salzburg from the north. The interior has accumulated Gothic and baroque furnishings over centuries, though no single object is the principal draw. What draws people here is the combination: the old church, then the walk through the monastery courtyard, then a litre of unfiltered beer in the cavernous hall or on the terrace overlooking the Salzach and the Altstadt.
The Augustiner Braustuebl Muelln is frequently described as the biggest beer hall in Austria, and it functions in a way that few places of its scale still do: you collect your mug from the attendant, fill it yourself from the barrels, buy pretzels and cold cuts from the market stalls inside, and sit where you find a seat. The church lends the whole ritual an unlikely solemnity.
Curated routes
The old town is about 1.5 square kilometres and has 22 churches. This is the order I would walk them, from Holy Trinity on Makartplatz across both banks and up two city mountains to St. Sebastian. Three to four hours, and you see every corner of the old town on the way.
Both city mountains in one walk: the Mönchsberg from Mülln past its viewpoints to the fortress and Nonnberg, down through the old town and over the Mozartsteg, then up the Imbergstiege and round the Kapuzinerberg, the one that feels like a real mountain.
