The world today refers to
Salzburg′s most famous son as "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart". In fact, his
name was officially "Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Theophilus
Mozart" with "Amadeus" being a Latinised variation of
"Theophilus". Mozart himself
signed in his later years as "Wolfgang Amade", and referred to
himself as "Amadeus" only when he was joking.His family and friends
called him simply "Wolfgang" or in the abbreviated way
"Wolferl".
Salzburg: a Baroque snapshot
The Zauberflötenhäuschen
("Magic flute house")
The
so-called Zauberflötenhäuschen is placed in the gardens of
the Mozarteum Foundation, more precisely in the
"Bastionsgarten". Mozart wrote at least parts of the Zauberflöte,
"The Magic Flute" in this little hut. Originally, it was situated in
a Garden next to the "Freihaustheater" or "Theater auf der
Wieden" theatre in Vienna. The story goes, that libretto-author
Emanuel Schikaneder locked Mozart into the Zauberflötenhäuschen to ensure
that they would meet their deadlines. Other stories talk about Mozart meeting
singers in the Zauberflötenhäuschen to practice parts of the opera. After the
original gardens in Vienna were sold, the duke Fürst Starhemberg donated the
Zauberflötenhäuschen to the International Mozart Foundation in 1873. It
was moved to Salzburg and re-erected in the Salzburg gnome garden
by Mirabell castle. From there it was moved to
the Kapuzinerberg mountain in 1877, where it remained until it
was damaged by bombs in WWII. After the war, the Zauberflötenhäuschen
was renovated and moved once again, this time to its current location in
the Schwarzstraße. In July and August it can be visited with a guided tour
through the Mozarteum art university.
Salzburger Stierwascher
During the period of
the peasant′s riots of 1525, the city of Salzburg was under a siege.
Soon the city′s population was running short of food, and fear spread when only
a single bull was left within the mighty city walls. Then the commander of the
defending troops is said to have had an idea: he ordered to paint the
naturally brown bull with white stain and lead it up and down the city
walls on display to the enemy. The next day, they would wash the bull, paint it
in black and do the same thing again. The next day, they would paint the bull
red, then spotted, and so on. In the end, the enemy thought that
the people of Salzburg were slaughtering a bull every day, expecting that
the live stocks were still large enough to feed the troops and people in the
city for a very long time. Eventually, the troops that kept Salzburg under
siege withdrew, leaving Salzburg to freedom. Under cheer and laughter, the bull
was led to the Salzach river and washed until he appeared again in
his natural brown. Ever since then, people from Salzburg are called
"Stierwascher" - bull washers.
Fun facts: The tomb of Prince
Archbishop Wolf Dietrich
Wolf Dietrich von
Raitenau was the first Prince Archbishop of Salzburg who shaped the city
during its Baroque prime. When his nemesis and successor Markus Sittikus forced
him out of his office and even arrested Wolf Dietrich in the Hohensalzburg
Fortress, did Sittikus best to make the people of Salzburg forget about von
Raitenau. Although somewhat speculative, it can be estimated that this is the
reason why Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau is buried at St. Sebastian Cemetery.
As a Prince Archbishop, he should have been buried in the crypt of
the Salzburg Dom Cathedral. He ended up outside the town centre
without much honour. Legend has it, that Wolf Dietrich was buried
upright, sitting in a chairsurrounded by blueprints and sketches to
plan the construction of even more buildings in his beloved Salzburg. It is
said that he will sit like that until Doomsday, when he will stand up and ask
the Lord for mercy for himself and his enemies.
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