What does Salzburg look like at Christmas?
Salzburg is a city in western Austria, at the foot of the Alps, on the Salzach river. High up on a dark rock stands a great white fortress, Hohensalzburg. Below it, domes as green as old copper shine in the evening light, and the squares sparkle with Christmas stalls.
The Christkindlmarkt in front of the cathedral
When night falls, the squares in front of the cathedral fill with wooden stalls and the golden light of the Christkindlmarkt. Above them, strings of little lights hang like a sky full of stars, and the white fortress keeps watch from its rock. The air smells of roasted almonds, warm chestnuts and baked apples. The market usually runs from mid-November to New Year.
What do you find at the market?
- Wool socks knitted by hand.
- Beeswax candles shaped like little trees and angels.
- Wooden toys and glass baubles.
- Warm chestnuts and baked apples.
What can you do at the market?
- Listen to the music from the towers: during Advent, brass players climb onto the balconies and into the towers around the Residenzplatz. As the lights below slowly dim, their carols float over the market.
- Listen to the Glockenspiel: for more than 300 years, 35 bells have rung from a tower above the Residenzplatz, every day at 7, 11 and 18 o’clock.
- Visit Mozart’s birthplace, a yellow house on Getreidegasse, where you can see the little violin he played as a child.
- Look up at Hohensalzburg Fortress, which has watched over the city since around 1077 and shines above the roofs at night.
Two Austrian Christmas customs
Nicholas and Krampus
On 5 and 6 December, Saint Nicholas visits children with small gifts. With him come the Krampuses, shaggy creatures with horns and bells. Their noisy parades are part of the old Alpine winter.
The Advent singing
In 1946, Tobias Reiser invited his friends to sing together before Christmas. The little gathering became a famous Advent singing, which still fills the Great Festival Hall every winter.
A taste of Salzburg: Bratäpfel, baked apples
Bratäpfel are baked apples filled with nuts, raisins, honey and cinnamon, served warm with vanilla sauce. In the old town, Advent smells of vanilla, cinnamon and roasted chestnuts. Their recipes, and those for vanilla crescents, chestnuts and a Christmas punch for children, to make together with an adult, are in the book.
How do you say “Merry Christmas!” in German?
Frohe Weihnachten!
Try saying it at dinner on Christmas Eve.
What word did Mira discover here?
In each of the eleven cities of the second journey, Mira finds a special word. The word from Salzburg is written in her Christmas passport, at the end of chapter 8.
