I must be one of the few people to visit Salzburg who has never watched the Sound of Music. What makes it even stranger is that I studied music at university, but the movie is lost on me. I was more excited about seeing the birthplace of Mozart. Another pleasant surprise was just a 15-minute drive outside of Salzburg at the Hellbrunn Palace.
Schloss Hellbrunn or Hellbrunn Palace and Trick Fountains. I had the misfortune of a snowstorm striking during my visit, but I still enjoyed the tour and recommend it to every single person who passes through Salzburg. I do apologize for these photos, they were taken a few years ago, it was freezing cold, and I think I lost a few, including one of the actual palace so the best I can offer is Wikipedia’s image for now.
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About the Hellbrunn Palace and Trick Fountains
An early Baroque villa built between 1612 and 1615. It was meant only to be a day residence, or some refer to as a pleasure palace, during the summer for the Archbishop. Because of this, there is actually no bedroom in Hellbrunn Palace. While the interior is obviously impressive this attraction shines when you go outside to the trick fountains.
Inside you can do an audio tour and wander around rooms of the palace. This was one of my favorite rooms, full of random works of art. The archbishop clearly had a playful sense of humor from his collection and it was a breath of fresh air compared to the usual stuffy repetitive art you can see in palace after palace.
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Aside from this very amusing unicorn, my other favorite room is pictured below. You can sit on a round couch in the middle and the couch rotates so you can get a view of the whole room and ceiling.
Designed by Markus Slittikus, the prince-archbishop at that time, the fountains were designed to be entertaining. There is a famous spot on the tour where the guide shows a table and seats, which are outside. They then tell a story about the Archbishop who would be entertaining guests and without their knowledge activate the fountains which would spring up from their seats and soak everyone but him.
There were a lot of these random places throughout the gardens with hidden fountains and small little mechanical water theater sets depicting different stories, mythology, and are just so impressive and unique to anything I’ve ever seen before. There was so much attention to detail and creative placement of hidden fountains and statues. I love visiting palaces that are quirky in their design. Actually, Neuschwanstein Castle is very similar in spite of how majestic the outside appears, the inside is incredibly creative and artistic.
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Visiting Hellbrunn Palace and the Magical Fountains
There is an audioguide tour through the palace, and yes you do need a guided tour through the trick fountains. Adult tickets are €12.50. The duration of the palace audioguide is approximately 40 minutes and same for the trick fountains guided tour.
Please note that the Hellbrunn Palace and Trick Gardens are open from March 30th until November 3rd (2019). I do suggest that you try to visit on a nice day, of course, we can’t control the weather but visiting during the rain will definitely lessen the impact.
For more info on ticket prices and opening times check out their website.
How to get to Hellbrunn Palace
Hellbrunn Palace is an easy day trip from Salzburg.
-Take the Bus 25 at Marienplatz until stop Fürstenweg.
-Only 8 km from the center of Salzburg it is a quick drive or taxi ride. The palace has lots of parking available.
-You can also ride a bike from the center which takes about 25 minutes.
Wandering beyond Salzburg
Salzburg is perfectly situated that you can continue your trip to either Vienna, Munich, or Ljubljana all via train or bus.
Read all about how magical Vienna is in November
Read EVERYTHING you need to know about visiting Ljubljana (from a local!)
Things to do in Munich (Coming soon!)
Spending One Day in Salzburg (Coming soon!)
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Thanks!
Thank you for reading as always and to follow my latest updates find me on Instagram and Twitter.
I enjoyed reading about the trick fountains. It’s cool hearing about places that allowed the hosts to play pranks on their guests. The GIF showing off the rotating fountain was especially cool.
Thanks! Yeah, it was a very unique palace it is interesting to see when people who owned these grand palaces and were so influential had a sense of humor, they seem to leave that out of the history books.
Definitely recommend Hellbrun Palace for all the reasons you mentioned in this post. It’s so unlike every other palace I’ve ever been to!
Thanks for the comment! It is such a cool place to visit for a change of pace.