Salzburg Photos: Winter at Mirabell Palace

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Schloss Mirabell Palace was built by Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau for his mistress Salome Alt. From the beginning, Mirabell was meant to be a leisure palace with playful parks and extensive gardens. Many Prince Archbishops that followed Wolf Dietrich extended and developed the parks and gardens. However, the playful nature of Mirabell was never given up and even the strong alterations of the facade of Schloss Mirabell in the early 19th century did not harm its over-all impression. The palace is now a weird mix of Classicist and Baroque styles, but the garden is uniform and highly popular - one of the main attractions of Salzburg. They are open to the general public - free of charge and all year round, even though some sections are closed during the winter. As you can see in this picture, the snow would make it really hard to maintain the flowerbeds and paths. The palace itself serves as a city hall, houses the municipial library of Salzburg and is a popular wedding venue.

photo (c) visit-salzburg.net