Universitätsplatz is the elongated square tucked directly behind Getreidegasse, and it is a better version of everything the famous shopping street promises. The Grünmarkt, Salzburg's daily open-air produce market, runs here every weekday and Saturday morning, with regional vegetables, cheese, bread, and flowers spread along the stalls. The dramatic white facade of the Kollegienkirche closes one side of the square.
The Story
Most visitors walk Getreidegasse from end to end and never step through the passages into Universitätsplatz. That is their loss. The square opens up behind the houses, and what you find there has a completely different character: local, functional, lived-in. The Grünmarkt has been operating here for a long time, and on a Tuesday morning it is Salzburg residents doing their shopping, not tourists looking for souvenirs.
The Kollegienkirche on the south side of the square is worth stopping for. Designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and completed in 1707, it is considered one of the finest baroque church exteriors in Austria. The convex and concave curves of the facade, the twin towers, and the way it meets the scale of the square make it architecturally significant in a way that is not always obvious at first glance. Fischer von Erlach also designed the Residenzplatz fountain's base, and the Karlskirche in Vienna; he was the leading baroque architect of the Habsburg world.
The square connects the Getreidegasse commercial network to the Monchsberg wall to the west and to the Festival precinct to the south. It is one of the genuinely local spaces in the Altstadt, which is increasingly rare.
Visiting
The square is always open and free. The Grünmarkt operates Monday to Saturday, roughly 7 am to 1 pm; weekday mornings are less crowded than Saturdays. Approach through the passages from Getreidegasse or from the Festival precinct side. The Kollegienkirche is usually open for visiting outside of Mass times. There is nowhere to sit at the market itself, but the square is comfortable to stand in and browse.