Salzburg - Mirabellplatz & St Andrew Chuch

Date: 13th April 2014

After lunch, we were heading straight towards Mirabellplatz to see the famous Mirabell Garden where the film "The Sound of Music" was shot. Mirabellplatz is a square located in the new town of Salzburg, the same as Taj Mahal restaurant and the hotel that we stayed. Salzburg old and new cities can actually be covered in 1 day. Should you wish to see more details than you should extend to another day, if not just follow all places that we went so far in Salzburg.

Mirabell Palace seen accross St Andrew Church

St Andrew Church captured from the square

The Mirabell Square is in fact the area around the Mirabell Palace. A very long time before it was where the city gates was located. It was turned as a castle but then later being used as a parade ground surface of the Mirabell stable. The open space was used to build the warehouse at the end of the Second World War, in 1788.

Car Parks at Mirabellplatz

Mirabell Platz is an important transport hub for public transport. Buses, on various external parts of the city coming, interchange points have here in the old town. The parish church of St. Andrew is located in the same Andraviertel just opposite the Mirabell Palace.

The left side view of the church

The present buildings emerged slowly in the 19th Century and the road Rainer became a kind of boulevard. Beside Mirabell Palace, in the southwest corner is the Villa Kast. Seated across Mirabell Palace is the parish church of St. Andrew, where I went exploring inside, alone while my sisters and my best friend were having a nice conversations with 2 Malaysian girls (Kelantanese). Both of the girls are a first year Architecture students (studying in Europe) who we met earlier before reaching the square. They were there during exam break. Amazingly, they flew there instead of taking trains. So, I believe the 3 old ladies would convince them to use European train to travel by time I finished my tour inside the church.

My apology for a blurry image

The original St. Andrew's Church or Church of Saint Andrew once stood next to the Platz (square) on the eastern corner of Trinity Street. The original Gothic church was first built by Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau to a Renaissance building remodeled under Archbishop Andreas Jakob I. It was transformed again with considerable effort in Baroque style in 1750. The church was badly affected during the great town fire in 1818.

According to the plans of Josef Wessicken the new church of the city architect was Jacob Ceconi in neo-gothic style on the by the razing of the bastions built space gained. In 1898 the new church was consecrated with its 61 m high towers. The portals and the cross altar of the original church were sold to the parish of St. Georgen, these components in the construction of the Calvary Church used.

After heavy bomb damage in the Second World War, only the western facade had remained reasonably intact - the church was rebuilt short again after plans by the Bavarian architect Michael. The original appearance of the neo-Gothic church was completely lost during the renovation in the years 1969 to 1972.  At the suggestion of the then 83-year-old architect Clemens Holzmeister, a typical Gothic for rather a new style high spiers replaced by short and pyramids and the pediments and other decorations away.

The last few photos hared in this entry are my favorite angle shot. If my Nikon is not so sick with poor lighting , I believe it will not fail me to give a perfect result is it is well. Will definitely send it to the clinic (Nikon Service Centre) before my 3rd leg of the train race begun by end of the year.

Next will be on Mirabell Garden...