When you head off on a school trip to the fourth largest city in Austria, you will be pleasantly surprised at the sheer amount of beauty, culture and history that Salzburg has to offer. Located in the northern-central part of the country, Salzburg is situated on the Salzach River and has a history that dates back to the Neolithic Age, with evidence that the Celts first settled the region near the fifth century B.C. When Rupert became the bishop in 700 A.D. he named the city Salzburg, which means “Salt Caslte”, for the salt barges that travelled up the river.

With an interesting and sometimes tumultuous religious history, the city has grown over the centuries, while still being able to preserve what has been described as its “rich urban fabric” in the centre, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As your school trip itinerary takes you around the city, pay attention to the buildings, beauty and general sites of interest as you wander; your trip to the Austrian city will be one you won’t forget in a hurry.

Strolling though the city

When you’re on a school trip to Salzburg, you will likely begin your tour in the very heart of the city. The centre of the city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, in commendadation of its urban fabric – preserved from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. The mix of Italian and German cultures can be seen in the Baroque design that much of the centre displays. The Italian architects Vincenzo Scamozzi and Santino Solari designed many of these classically Baroque buildings, and the skyline is dominated by spires and the outline of the fortress of HohenSalzburg.

Fortress of HohenSalzburg

As the largest and best preserved fortress in central Europe, the fortress of HohenSalzburg is an imposing structure, built by Archbishop Gebhard in 1077. It was enlarged during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries when the archbishops took refuge here during the Hungarian War and the Peasants’ War. This fortress holds the distinction of never having been captured by enemy troops. The interior is well worth seeing: the richly appointed Golden Hall and Golden Chamber are adorned with beautiful paintings and the Gothic carvings are opulent testaments to religious and royal wealth.

Discover Mozart

A school trip to Salzburg would not be complete without a visit to the birthplace and living space of one of the most important composers of all times: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Located at Getreidegasse 9, the birthplace of Mozart is now Salzburg’s most popular museum; you can see the room where he was born (in 1756), the violin he played as a child, along with an array of Mozart family memorabilia. From there, head over to the Tanzmeisterhaus on the Makartplatz; this was Mozart’s living space where he lived and composed from 1773. The original place where Mozart lived is gone but in 1994 the International Mozart Foundation rebuilt the house in the style it would have been when the great man himself dwelt there.