Advent is one of the loveliest times in Salzburg. In the middle of the baroque UNESCO old town and at the foot of Hohensalzburg Fortress, an atmospheric and enchanting fairytale world is created. Advent tastes like biscuits and punch here, causes goosebumps and tears of joy and sounds like childhood songs.

Father Alois Schwarzfischer from the church guest house of the Pallottines on the Mönchsberg raves about the Salzburg Advent singing, which is performed in the Festspielhaus on the first three weekends in Advent. “The event goes to the Austrian writer Karl Heinrich Waggerl back, who is known for his Christmas stories. For me, the Advent singing is the message of Christmas, which is expressed biblically and musically,” he explains. The hour and a half concert is attended by around 2,000 guests. “A total of 35,000 tickets will be sold. I have secured my admission for the third advent.”

The Advent ring is part of it

And for the 82-year-old, what else is part of getting in the mood for the Salzburg Christmas season is the Advent bell ringing on the eve of the first Sunday in Advent. All the bells in Salzburg’s old town ring for ten minutes from 6 p.m. The approximately forty churches thus adhere to the ordinance sheet as the official organ of the archdiocese. Visitors who are in Salzburg over the first Advent can not only attend the impressive sound of the bells, but also the Advent singing. Born in Regensburg, he has been serving in the Catholic apostolate of the Pallottines for fifty years and reveals his very personal ritual: “I always stand at the height of the bell when the Advent bell rings, for example on the platform of the Museum der Moderne on the Mönchsberg. The sound there is rich and beautiful.”

For very special moments Christmas market provide trumpet sounds every Thursday and Saturday. At 6.30 p.m. the lights are dimmed and brass bands from all over the country play along from the cathedral arcades, from the terrace of the Salzburg Christmas Museum and from the glockenspiel tower. Speaking of the Christmas Museum on Mozartplatz: the exhibition is not just a feast for the eyes of children. The Krampus is also introduced in a separate chapter. In Advent customs he is seen as a frightening figure accompanied by Saint Nicholas.

heaven on earth

The scenes give an idea of ​​the fear he causes in young and old. The Salzburg Christmas Museum shines 365 days a year. What may sound kitschy for one visitor is literally heaven on earth for another. According to this, the story of the Christ child, the shepherds, the Krampus and even the importance of Advent calendars can be told not only in December, but throughout the year.

For more than 1,000 years, Salzburg was a papal state whose secular and ecclesiastical powers were united in the person of the prince-archbishop. When walking through the city, baroque squares, small passages and an impressive abundance of churches, monasteries and cemeteries bear witness to the heritage of these prince-archbishops, both in architecture and in art and culture. In addition, there are accommodations in the monasteries that make the church city of Salzburg a particularly special experience for travellers.

Treasury of discoveries

The world behind Salzburg’s church gates can be explored in a particularly subtle way on a walk. Special details are often hidden beyond the facades of the places of worship. Salzburg Cathedral is a true treasure trove of discoveries. Not only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptized in the baptismal font, but also Joseph Mohr, the lyricist of “Silent Night! Holy Night!”. The most famous Christmas carol in the world was written in 1816. Cathedral sacristan Roland Hellrigl has a special tip for Christmas visitors: “The Rorate mass with the Archbishop and the Alpine harp on December 24 at seven in the morning is a beautiful and quiet service. They used to be called Engelamt.” In addition, contemplative Advent music sounds every Friday and Saturday at 4 p.m. during the Christmas season.

The historic collegiate churches of Nonnberg and St. Peter’s Abbey, the imposing Franciscan church, the all-white collegiate church or the famous cemetery of St. Sebastian invite you to linger. On the night of December 24, 1818, the famous Christmas carol rang out “Silent Night! Holy Night!” for the first time in the parish church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf near Salzburg. Its melody and lyrics have touched people’s hearts in a very special way for centuries. As soon as you hear the first notes, a Christmassy mood spreads among the listeners. The Salzburg-born lyricist and later priest Joseph Mohr came from a poor background. Together with the teacher and composer Franz Xaver Gruber, who accompanied him musically, the song achieved world fame.

“Silent Night” in 300 languages

Today it is sung in more than 300 languages, including Javanese, Samoan and Zulu. The Silent Night Memorial Chapel, the successor building to the Nikolauskirche, is only a few kilometers from the state capital and can be easily reached by car or public transport. Exactly in the year when the song was to be played for the first time, the old organ in the parish church in Oberndorf could not be played. Gruber composed the text for two solo voices and choir for the musical accompaniment of the Christmas mass. Gruber sang the bass while Priest Mohr took over the tenor part with accompaniment on his guitar.

After that, the song fell into oblivion. Only in 1825 did the Oberndorf organ builders spread it further. The organ builder Carl Mauracher brought it to his home in Tyrol, where a Tyrolean group of singers made it known in Europe. “Around the chapel there is a Christmas market during Advent. The museum is now housed in the Old Vicarage, where Joseph Mohr once lived,” adds Clemens Konrad, Managing Director of Stille Nacht Oberndorf. “Regular religious services do not take place in the memorial chapel, but most groups of pilgrims bring their own priests with them.”

Familiar security

For Father Alois Schwarzfischer, the famous song means intimacy and security. “I like to hear it at the end of Christmas mass. I particularly like the original words ‘silence’ and ‘the holy’. Both appear in the song. Today, these expressions have almost fallen into oblivion.” Carrying peace in one’s heart is more important than ever, and not just in this day and age. “We all need to become ambassadors of peace ourselves. Peace is more than just the silence of arms. This is my very personal greeting of peace.”