Leopoldskron-Moos

Leopoldskron-Moos is a peculiar district of Salzburg: It comprises primarily of a thin settlement along a perfectly straight road, the Moosstraße. This 5.5 kilometre long road links the district of Riedenburg to its north with the area near Fürstenbrunn and the Untersberg. After the construction of the Neutor, the street was linked to that and slightly altered in the northern part; but only in 1805 it was made a proper street rather than a path.

It is framed by a few houses on each side, followed by agricultural land that was swampy wetland until well into the 17th century. The term "moos" refers to a swamp; this swamp was home to a hand full of poor farmers, until the first drains were built. This was done by the order of Prince Archbishop Leopold Anton von Firmian, who built his "private" leisure palace Schloss Leopoldskron nearby. Only after the construction of this palace, the name "Leopoldskroner Moos" became common. Note that Schloss Leopoldskron itself is situated in the district of Riedenburg.

Today, there are about 2500 people who live in this district; there is a lot of agricultural land; there are bits and pieces of old swamp land that is preserved (or even re-hydrated) for environmental reasons; and nothing of interest for tourists.

The Moosstraße is a middle-class to upper-middle-class residential area. In the late 19th century, there were some 700 people who lived along the Moosstraße. Their desire for a church led to a fundraising initiative and donated money went towards the construction of a historicist church, the Kirche Maria Hilf. The building was consecrated in 1858, but is not very interesting. Note the nature reserve of the Hammerauer Moor; the Lehrbauhof in the very south of the Moosstraße, which serves as an art venue for the Salzburger Festspiele.

For those with an interest in local history, it might be worth tracking down the history of the several bathhouses and public lidos that developed here in the early 19th century, when people got excited about swamp soil and its cure properties; spas popped out like mushrooms (one was even in the Schloss Leopoldskron) where people could take baths in the sulphuric mud of the swamp. Until today, swamp soil is commercially collected for similar applications in some parts of Leopoldskron-Moos.

Further Reading

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldskroner-Moos
Leopoldskron-Moos on the German Wikipedia

http://www.stadt-salzburg.at/
City of Salzburg, Official Website

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