Mirabell Palace and Gardens in Austria, Salzburg Resort
Rating: 7,9/10 (1000 votes) 
The history of the creation of the Mirabell Palace and Gardens is connected with a beautiful love story. So the Mirabell Palace was originally built by order of Prince and Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenho for his beloved woman Salome Alt, with whom they had 15 children. The archbishop was a member of the clergy and could not afford to marry her. In 1606, Wolf Dietrich built a palace named after his beloved - Altenau. He hoped that the palace would somehow compensate Salome for the fact that their children were considered illegitimate. Over the next century, various new buildings appeared around the palace. From 1721 to 1727, by order of Archbishop Franz Anton Count Harrach, all buildings in the area were combined into the Mirabell palace and park ensemble. In 1818, the palace suffered from a severe fire, but in subsequent years it was restored. The Mirabell Palace is located in the northern part of the palace and park ensemble. Today it houses the seat of the city council and the office of the mayor of Salzburg. The palace is also famous for its beautiful marble hall, where weddings are held. For a long time on the site of the Mirabell garden there was a court garden. This territory was rebuilt many times, until finally the Big Parterre (or Mirabelgarten Park) appeared. The Mirabell Garden is surrounded by external and internal balustrades, which are decorated with marble vases by the sculptor Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. In the garden you can see hedges, flowerbeds, statues and ponds surrounded by mowed lawns, which are separated by paved paths that allow visitors to move freely. In the center of the Big Parterre there is an octagonal fountain, around which there are four marble statues created by Ottavio Mosto in 1690 and symbolizing the four elements: water, fire, air and earth. In the southeastern part of the Big Parterre there are magnificent statues of the gods. The four seasons are personified by the goddesses: Vesta and Venus (winter), Flora and Diana (spring), Ceres and Minerva (summer), Pomona (autumn). There are also statues of Mercury, Apollo, Hercules, Volcano, Jupiter, Mars, Chronos and Bacchus. Along the western wall of the Mirabell Palace stretches the Small Parterre, where the fountain in the form of the Greek mythological animal - Pegasus is located. The fountain is made of copper and designed by Kaspar Gras in 1661. A little south of Pegasus, you can see another sculpture-fountain - Susanna in the font. Susanna's silhouette reflects the features of Salome Alt, the beloved of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich. Along the western side of the Small Parterre there is a green gallery and a labyrinth, the Green Theater, unusual sculptures of freak dwarfs. In the Mirabell park complex there is a greenhouse dating from the 18th century, which today houses the Salzburg Baroque Museum, which exhibits works by Rubens, We also recommend reading Astronomical clock in France, resort of Strasbourg Topic: Mirabell Palace and Gardens in Austria, Salzburg Resort. |
