On a city trip to the birthplace of Mozart, the Domquartier in the middle of Salzburg’s old town is an absolute must. It comprises several museums and exhibitions. The former center of the prince-archbishops’ power, which consisted of the cathedral and the residence complex, was only reunited in 2014. Secularization in 1803 had demanded the strict separation of spiritual and secular power and thus separated the two institutions for around 200 years.

Today, Salzburg Cathedral, the Residenz and the Benedictine monastery of St. Peter form the baroque heart of the attraction. On a total museum area of 15,000 m², visitors can view around 2,000 exhibits. The tour through the cathedral quarter is particularly recommended. Here you can immerse yourself in over 1,300 years of imperial history, art, architecture and music and take in the history of Salzburg.

For centuries, the Residenz was the magnificent residence and official seat of the prince archbishops of Salzburg. As such, it represents the history of rule and style from the Renaissance through the Baroque to Classicism. The sumptuously furnished state rooms of the residence served as places of representation and staging of a lively political and cultural life. These include five halls, including the magnificent Audience Hall, as well as the private chambers of the prince archbishops, including the bedroom, the study and the throne room. There is much to discover on the way through the numerous state rooms: crystal chandeliers made of Bohemian smoked glass hang from the high ceilings, old, precious paintings, tapestries and clocks adorn the walls and gold leaf stucco work lines the rooms.

The Residenzgalerie in Salzburg’s Domquartier is dedicated entirely to European painting from the 16th to 19th centuries. Dutch painting from the 17th century is particularly impressive. But works by important Italian, French and Austrian masters of the 17th and 18th centuries can also be found here. Rembrandt H. van Rijn, Charles Le Brun, Hans Makart and Ferdinand G. Waldmüller are just some of the artists whose paintings can be admired here. The Residenzgalerie also offers changing special exhibitions. If you are already curious about the exhibits at the Residenzgalerie, you can view six online exhibitions from home as part of Google Arts & Culture.

To get from the Residenz to the Cathedral Museum, you cross the Cathedral Arch Terrace. There you can enjoy the unique view of the famous panorama of Salzburg with its city mountains, as well as the incomparable view of the cathedral and Residenzplatz. Once inside the Cathedral Museum itself, visitors can enjoy a permanent exhibition of art from the 8th to 18th centuries from the history of the cathedral and the archdiocese of Salzburg. Our tip: take in the view of the magnificent cathedral interior from the cathedral gallery for a while. The cathedral also houses the museum in the south oratory and the Salzburg Chamber of Art and Curiosities.

The Benedictine monastery of St. Peter is considered to be the oldest monastery still in existence in the German-speaking world. Here you can discover 1300 years of monastery history and find valuable art treasures from the collections of St. Peter’s Archabbey. The St. Peter Museum also includes the impressive 70-metre-long gallery. The collection of the entire Benedictine monastery comprises an estimated 40,000 exhibits, which can be divided into three thematic focuses: St. Peter and music, St. Peter and art and St. Peter in history and constitution.

The Domquartier offers an interesting mix of permanent historical exhibitions and temporary special exhibitions. The permanent exhibitions can be found in the state rooms of the Residenz, in the Cathedral Museum, in the Kunst- und Wunderkammer and in the Museum of St. Peter with the Long Gallery. Special exhibitions are regularly shown in the north oratory of the cathedral, for example.

Image credits © SalzburgerLand Tourismus