Christmas dream in Salzburg
From Oberndorf to Wagrain – in six “Silent Night locations” you can follow in the footsteps of the world-famous song “Silent Night, Holy Night”.
It all started about 20 kilometers north of the city of Salzburg. On the afternoon of December 24, 1818, Joseph Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber performed the world-famous song together for the first time in the St. Nikola Church in Oberndorf, in two voices and accompanied by just one guitar. However, the church was demolished and today’s Silent Night Chapel was built in its place.
The place where the Christmas carol was created is the perfect destination to get into the Christmas spirit, as numerous locations in Salzburg are linked to the story of “Silent Night”. The story of “Silent Night” begins in modern and at the same time historical museums, imposing churches and idyllic squares. Holy Night!” to live.
Oberdorf near Salzburg. Obern is located around 20 kilometers north of the city of Mozart and has achieved worldwide fame as a Silent Night community. Joseph Mohr worked from 1817 to 1819 as an assistant priest in the shipping community, which had only been separated from Laufen on the Bavarian side two years earlier. The teacher from Arnsdorf, Franz Xaver Gruber, earned his extra income as an organist in Oberndorf. The meeting of the men turned into a friendship and this is the song “Silent Night! Holy Night!”. On the afternoon of December 24, 1818, the assistant priest Joseph Mohr gave the teacher Franz Xaver Gruber the poem he had written in 1816 and asked him to set it to music. On the evening of the same day, the two men performed it in two voices, accompanied only by Joseph Mohr on the guitar, after Christmas mass.
Tip: A must in Oberndorf is the Oberndorf Silent Night Museum in the old vicarage and the Silent Night Chapel.
City of Salzburg. On a walk through the city of Mozart, one discovers the stations of Joseph Mohr’s life – at Steingasse 31, for example, where she spent her childhood and school days in the poorest conditions. Also worth seeing is the Salzburg Cathedral with its historic baptismal font and the Salzburg Cathedral organ, which was rebuilt by Carl Mauracher. The Zillertal organ builder brought the song “Silent Night! Holy Night!” as early as 1819 from Oberndorf in his homeland to Fügen. Joseph Mohr and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, among others, were baptized in the baptismal font.
Tip: In Salzburg, city tours on the theme of “Silent Night! Holy Night!”, which lead, among other things, to Steingasse, the cathedral, the priest’s house on Makartplatz, the Benedictine monastery of St. Peter at the foot of the Mönchsberg and today’s University of Salzburg with the Great Auditorium.
Mariapfarr. Joseph Mohr took up his first position as an assistant pastor in Mariapfarr: He met his grandfather and wrote the poem “Silent Night” in 1816. Holy Night!” The history-charged pilgrimage church is a must-see.
Arnsdorf. The old elementary school in Arnsdorf (Gruberschule) includes the excellent Silent Night Museum Arnsdorf. Creaking steps take you to the first floor and from there to the former living quarters of Franz Xaver Gruber, where he lived from 1807 to 1826 with his first wife and from 1829 with his second wife and children. It is very likely that he also wrote the melody of “Silent Night!” on the afternoon of December 24, 1818. Holy Night!” composed. Worth seeing is the pilgrimage church “Maria im Mösl”.
Hallein. In Hallein, Franz Xaver Gruber was able to devote himself entirely to music as choral director: the city has a newly designed Silent Night Museum and invites you to take a stroll in the footsteps of the composer. In Hallein there is Franz Xaver Gruber’s final resting place and the Gruber organ in the parish church.
Wagrain. In Wagrain, Joseph Mohr was primarily remembered as a “social vicar”. Here he began his service on March 4, 1837. Tip: The Wagrain cultural walk takes you to numerous historical places. Joseph Mohr’s last resting place can also be found in Wagrain.