Text: Meritxell Batlle Cardona / Video: Llorenç Perelló
November 20, 2021 10:11
–
—
–
Since the historic center of Salzburg was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996, Austria has been adding to its track record palaces, gardens and urban monuments, but also cultural landscapes and one of its engineering gems: the Semmering railway line. Each and every one of them tells the story of this Central European country, and it is best to start with these seven:
—
Historic city center of Salzburg
Developed between the Middle Ages and the 19th century, the urban fabric of the Austrian city opens to the visitor between historical architecture and an intense cultural life that earned it to be declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. A walk through its old town allows you to see jewels like the Hohensalzburg Fortress, the central street of the cereals (Getreidegasse) or the birthplace of its most illustrious personage: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens
As one of the main attractions of the city of Vienna, this monumental enclosure, which was the summer residence of the Habsburgs, treasures some of the most important imperial gardens of the European Baroque. Inside the palace, you can learn about the life of the rulers of the time, as well as one of the best views of the enclosure from the terrace. Inside the park, the Palm House (Palmenhaus) houses an exceptional collection of palm trees.
Photo: iStock
Hallstatt-Dachstein Cultural Landscape
The towns of Hallstatt, Gosau, Obertraun and Bad Goisern, the core of the inner Salzkammergut, make up this historic setting dominated by the towering mountains that surround it. The current architectural wealth is due to the economic development that it experienced until the middle of the 20th century as a result of the extraction of salt.
Semmering railway line
Built between 1848 and 1856, it crosses 41 km of high mountains between Vienna and Trieste between tunnels and aqueducts that make up one of the greatest feats of civil engineering. The architect of all this iron heritage was the Venetian civil engineer Carlo di Ghega who devised a 895-meter pass that became the highest in the world on which the railway circulated at that time.
Graz historic city center
With the Habsburg footprint in every corner, the old town of the Austrian city was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1999 and acquired the extension of the Eggenberg Palace, located to the west of the city three kilometers from its historic center, in 2010. On a walk through its historic center, the Grazer Dom, its cathedral, or the opera stand out.
Photo: iStock
Wachau Cultural Landscape
Formed by the 36 km of the Danube that circulates between the cities of Melk and Krems, this historical region opens between cultural monuments and landscapes characterized by vineyards. Highlights include the Melk monastery and the Schönbühel palace, as well as the ruins of Aggstein, Dürnstein and Hinterhaus.
Historic center of Vienna
The capital of Austria amazes with its imperial legacy and its artistic vitality that unfolds in its streets and parks, palaces and museums. When visiting its historic center, traces of the Middle Ages can be seen in spaces such as the Gothic Cathedral of St. Stephen, the Baroque in the Hofburg imperial palace with its domes and the 19th century in the spectacular Ringstrasse avenue, where the national opera is located. and the Museum of Fine Arts.
–– .
