Hotels near Mirabell Palace and Gardens (Schloss Mirabell)

Mirabell Palace (Schloss Mirabell) was built in 1606 by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau for his mistress Salome Alt and their fifteen children, which was quite the scandal at the time. Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt redesigned it in a restrained Baroque style in 1721, and after a devastating fire in 1818 the interiors were rebuilt more soberly. Today the palace houses the Salzburg mayor's offices, but visitors can walk freely up the Marble Staircase (Engelstiege), decorated with cherubs by Georg Raphael Donner, and into the Marble Hall (Marmorsaal), where Leopold Mozart and his children Wolfgang and Nannerl once performed for the Prince-Archbishop. The hall is still one of the most romantic wedding venues in Europe. Outside, the geometric Mirabell Gardens (Mirabellgarten) were laid out by Fischer von Erlach in 1690, featuring the Pegasus Fountain, the Dwarf Garden (Zwerglgarten) with its 17 marble figures, and framed views of Hohensalzburg Fortress at the far end of the central axis. Pro Tip: Come at sunrise in summer to have the gardens and their photo-perfect fortress view entirely to yourself, before the coach groups arrive from Munich around 09:30.