Schloss Hellbrunn – Hellbrunn Palace

Hellbrunn means “healing spring”. It was named for the multiple water springs that naturally occur there.

Today we bought a city pass for the museums in Salzburg. This means we can visit as many sites as we can (or want?) for three days. First on our list was Hellbrunn Palace which includes a “trick fountains” tour, the palace itself, the gardens and grounds, and a zoo. The pass includes bus transportation.

We stopped at a bakery – the other “oldest” bakery. We got clarification. The first bakery we went to is the oldest bakery in town but they were the bakery for the clergy. The bakery we went to today is the oldest pubic bakery and it has been open since the 1400s. We tried their specialty which is a sugar cookie dough wrapped around a sweet cream cheese center.

I have been trying to get pictures of the girls holding hands which they do almost every day at least once. Despite their arguments, they have their moments of synergy.

We waited for our turn to see the fountains. We each got an audio guide in English. They had special ones for the kids. I didn’t get a chance to listen to theirs but I’m assuming it was just a simpler version of what the adults heard.

Count Markus Sittikus of Hohenems was Prince-Archbishop of the Archbishopric of Salzburg from 1612 to 1619. He built this “suburban palace” as a place to entertain and relax in summer.

His palace is known for the trick fountains which are hydro powered fountains and mechanics – this was cutting edge technology for the time. It is still powered without electricity today and one of the few remaining examples of what was at one time popular among the rich.

I won’t explain every photo but the one below shows a dining table where Markus would host dinner parties. At his signal at the end of dinner, water would spray up out of the seats. All except Markus’ seat, that is. This was for entertainment and possibly to get his guests to leave.

Most of the statues are in greek style and depict Greek gods and stories.

Throughout the tour we would get sprayed with surprise jets of water. Nova wasn’t having it and waited outside of many of the “traps” with my mom.

This room was designed to look like it was in ruins and about to collapse.

Venus

There were many hydro powered moving parts and even sounds created by water both organ music and water whistle sounds.

Poseidon

Next we walked through the grounds towards the palace, then toured the palace.

Painting of rabbits. Had the artist seen a rabbit before? Still not sure…

Markus, himself

Apparently super realistic art was displayed alongside oddities and supernatural or fantastic beasts. This added to the realism of the fakes to awe his guests.

On the property is the gazebo from Sound of Music (as shown from the outside in the film – the inside was built on a soundstage in Hollywood).

We had a little picnic lunch and then walked to the zoo which is on the same property.

Some highlights from the zoo:

A house mouse exhibit that was set up like a living room with mice running around in it.

Sleepy otters

Mini sheep we could feed and pet

Four-Eyed Fish

Ice cream

Capybaras

Mommy Tamarin with TWO babies

Sunbathing turtle who was dreaming about surfing

Porcupines

Giant tortoises playing a game?

We left Hallbrunn and next stopped at Schloss Frohnburg which is the exterior location of the front of the family home for the film. The back was a different Salzburg location which we will probably not visit because it is an exclusive hotel. The actual family home is also located in Salzburg. Not sure if we will make it to that either.

We took a few more photos from the “I Have Confidence” sequence so I updated that post with the new pics.

The girls spotted a playground on the way back to the bus so we stopped for a while to let them play.

We got a few groceries from a more spacious grocery store than the one by our apartment. I think ours has the same amount of food in about a quarter of the square footage.

Popcorn flavored chocolate?

The girls could not be convinced that this was chocolate for humans. I realized that we do not show cat photos on any human food in the United States.

We went for pizza, pasta, and salad at a restaurant right near our apartment then took the Mönchsberg Elevator up the cliff side for some great views of the city.