A Sound of Music in the ‘Rome of the North’

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Julie Andrews and a prince-archbishop of the Holy Roman Empire who fathered 15 children by a beauty from here form the unlikely trio most responsible for putting this gorgeous city in the minds of today’s travelers.

Native son Mozart forever invested the town’s charm, gaiety, brio and baroque sense of style into some of his most engaging music. And Julie Andrews put it on the big screen before countless millions with her delightful role in “The Sound of Music.”

But it was Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau who started it in 1587. This worthy archbishop had been raised in Renaissance Rome and had been influenced by the Medicis. He longed to turn Salzburg into the Rome of the north, an Italianate city with a cathedral larger than St. Peter’s and palaces to rival those of Medici Florence.

All this centuries-apart collusion helped form a city where one can easily imagine Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” taking place al fresco in one of its enchanting squares or flowery gardens or within an 18th-Century drawing room of Mirabell Palace.

So if an appreciation of fine music and fanciful architecture isn’t in your soul when you arrive here, it most surely will be when you leave.

Here to there: Lufthansa and American fly to Vienna daily. Austrian Airlines gets you to Salzburg in an hour; a very scenic train ride takes three hours.

How long/how much? Two to three days, perhaps another for a spin through the nearby Salzkammergut region, Austria’s incomparable lake district. The dollar’s nose dive hasn’t helped matters, but we’ve found three reasonably priced hotels. Outside the very best places, prices for dining are still moderate.

A few fast facts: Austria’s schilling recently traded at 11.29 to the dollar. May-June and September-October are the best months, but winter in Salzburg can be magnificent under snow. A 24-hour bus-tram pass is $3, including the funicular up to 11th-Century Hohensalzburg Castle overlooking the city. There is free bus service around the central city, or you can take a fiacre ride for $24 for half an hour.

Getting settled: Hotel Elefant (Sigmund Haffnergasse 4; $85 double B&B;) is dead center of Old Town on a pedestrian street and dates back seven centuries, a typical Austrian country inn with vaulted cellar and a distinct medieval feeling. Family-owned, recently renovated, with a fine restaurant serving Austrian dishes. A wooden elephant sits at the door to greet you.

Gasthof Romerwirt (Nonntaler Hauptstrasse 47; $39 double B&B;, $34 without private bath), a simple but neat place of 35 rooms, is 10 minutes from mid-town by bus No. 5, right at your front door. Small rooms with modest decor, tiny but immaculate baths. The owner’s wife will make you an evening meal of soup, Schnitzel and such for about $8.50. Romerwirt is open only from mid-February to the end of October.

Pension Erna (Gaisbergstrasse 43; $40 B&B; double) is another modest establishment, a five-minute ride to town center by bus No. 6. With 18 rooms, it is open all year. Rooms simply furnished but comfortable. In a pleasant breakfast room you may also have beer or wine later. And hope that cheerful Manuela, who speaks English and is very helpful, is on duty while you’re here.

Regional food and drink: There’s not a lot to distinguish Salzburg food from that of central Austria and nearby Bavaria, which means that you’ll have plenty of seasonal game, pork and veal, the last coming in a variety of Schnitzels. Luscious Saibling trout from the Salzkammergut lakes is also a favorite.

Desserts, as in all of Austria, are downright sinful, the most spectacular being Salzburger Nockerl , a turkey-size mound of pure meringue that is spooned up quickly by its devotees. Good beer; white wines a bit fruity, but the reds are making definite progress.

Moderate-cost dining: Zum Mohren (Judengasse 9) is a mid-town cellar that opened as a Gasthof in 1506 and has since served the families of Mozart and Franz Schubert. Owner Peter Habich kisses the hand of regular female guests with Hapsburg courtliness and explains any item on the menu that is puzzling.

Beneath vaulted ceilings you’ll find tables set with embroidered Tirolean cloths and fresh flowers, a menu of all the best Salzburg has to offer in typical dishes. We thought the Jagerschnitzel with a creamed mushroom sauce and Preiselbeeren (similar to cranberry) was superb.

Stiftskeller St. Peter (mid-town by the church) is thought to be the oldest inn in Europe, from AD 803 and run by monks in the 16th Century. Many atmospheric rooms with different decor, from rustic to formal salons in Austrian royal yellow. Or you may dine at communal tables in a cloister-like courtyard, choosing from a solid local menu: Tafelspitz, Kalbs-schnitzel, Schweinskotelett , venison, trout. Or just have a Viertel (quarter liter) of wine outside and take a breather.

Schloss-Restaurant Hellbrunn (outside town at Hellbrunn Castle), built in 1620, is in rooms that were the stable, chapel and guard room of the castle. It’s a delightful place for lunch or dinner. Specialties are fish, game and local staples, given an extra fillip with superb sauces. If you’re not hungry, just have a glass of wine or one of their heavenly dumplings filled with fresh strawberries in the courtyard, serenaded by the soothing sounds of Mozart.

Going first-class: Hotel Goldener Hirsch (Getreidgasse 37; $162-$251 double low season, $187-$298 high) goes back to 1407 and is surely the most patrician former guest house you’re ever likely to see. Its 56 rooms are a beguiling combination of hand-painted beds, antiques and Old World charm overlaid with every modern amenity. The manager and staff sport their well-worn Lederhosen and entertain regular guests such as Herbert von Karajan. It’s the center of Salzburg social life year-round.

Goldener Hirsch’s dining room is an elegant and very uptown Stuberl , with chairs and banquettes upholstered in Loden-green, and waiters in Bavarian hunting jackets. The saddle of venison with red cabbage fit our appetites and surroundings perfectly.

On your own: Get rid of your wheels and walk the Old Town, and be careful not to miss: the 16th-Century Residenz and its many stately rooms, where the young Mozart gave numerous concerts; Mozart’s birthplace at Getreidgasse 9; the Mirabell Gardens; also the banks of the Salzach River.

Music festivals and other cultural happenings throughout the year, with the famed Salzburg Summer Festival the most popular. Hotel prices, however, usually jump at such times.

Hohensalzburg has the best views in town, while the delightful, early baroque Hellbrunn Castle with its prankish fountains, full of surprises, is a must. And for a look at what’s happening and who’s in town, have coffee at Cafe Tomaselli on the Old Market Square.

For more information: Call the Austrian National Tourist Office at (213) 477-3332, or write (11601 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2480, Los Angeles 90025) for a brochure on Salzburg, another with city map and a list of hotels.