Salzburg: Where Mozart made chocolate

OK. Maybe Wolfgang didn't wrap up marzipan nougats in foil, but you wouldn't know that from strolling down many of old-town Salzburg's streets, where the wonder boy's rather chubby visage brightens carton upon carton of chocolate goodies.

The city's old town was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997, but this status apparently is no impediment to modern marketing. When we walked down Getreidegasse in the Old Town, we passed right by the birthplace of Mozart. The historical site was lost entirely in the forest of signs advertising Louis Vuitton and his ilk.

We must point out that Salzburg also displayed some self-awareness about its condition of becoming excessively precious, commercial, and sanitized. On the pedestrian bridge leading to the Old Town hung a series of short statements - poem fragments? - many of which seemed penned by alienated young artists. The set of placards were part of a project called: Salzburgization: Hinter Den Kulissen (Salzburgation: Behind the Scenes)

Examples:

Salzburg hat leider stets die magie der Vergangenheit gereicht.

Unfortunately, Salzburg has always made do with the magic of the past.

…..........

Another

Wir sind die Jungs aus der Mozartstadt.

We’re the boys from Mozart Town.

Underneath this, a graffiti artist wrote in pen: 

Fichen oder was? 

Fuck or what?

.......

So, we detected some ambivalence about the current situation in Salzburg, despite the tons of dough that tourist must drop buying Mozart candy, strudel and beer. 

This was also evident in the number of anarchist symbols we saw scrawled on buildings, or anti-religious slogans written on walls. 

The historic sense of the city is palpable here, despite the marketing and gloss. In one sense, the town is reminiscent of some sort of strange dig, because part of it literally exists at the bottom of quarried rock. Originally, the higher areas of the land were settled, centuries before the Romans came. About 15 BC, the municipality of Juvavum was recognized and became an important regional center. Then . . .the Roman Empire began its collapse, the borders fell, barbarians invaded and Juvavum became nearly deserted. St. Rupert is credited with the city's rebirth, after he was appointed bishop of the region, and chose the site to to establish his basilica. The town grew in the succeeding centuries, gaining its name Salzburg because of the barges carrying salt down the Salzach River. 

Aside from the concentration of medieval and baroque structures in the Old Town, the section east of the river has notable remnants of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many of the streets are lined with solid but elegant buildings. 

The Mirabell Garten, also east of the river, is a beautifully manicured park that surrounds the Mirabell Palace. When we walked by the park in the late morning, a large crowd of residents and tourists was listening to a wind band play German marches.

In the palace itself, classical music is regularly performed. 

In the evening, we stopped and listened to a concert in the courtyard. Admission for our seats: Free.

Touches of the more recent history are also evident. Outside the Mirabell Gardens was a memorial to those "euthanized" by the Nazis. In the square not far from where Mozart was born, on a sign hidden by scaffolding, a placard noted: "In somber remembrance of the book burning the Nazis staged on Residenzplatz on April 30, 1938."