Salzburg Photos: Gate & City Walls

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City Walls in Salzburg



In the early 17th century, tensions between Catholics and Protestants met a power struggle between the Habsburg Emperor and his princes and climaxed in a series of long and straining wars that spread over much of Central Europe and Scandinavia. Later, this series of wars that lasted from 1618 to 1648 was viewed as a single event, named "30-Years-War". Since Salzburg is situated more or less in the centre of Central Europe, it was only natural to expect it to be drawn into the struggles in one way or another. The wealthy principality was going through its Baroque bloom period when Prince Archbishop Paris Lodron figured that the city was "as accessible as a village". In order to change this, he increased taxes drastically and used the earned revenues to invest into new city walls, basions, ditches and smoothening of cliffs as semi-natural barriers. The project triggered starvation and increased poverty (via the hefty taxes), but turned out to be a success: Whilst neighbouring Bavaria lost a third of its population in the war efforts, not a single person died in Salzburg in combat. This gate, which can be found in the Steingasse, depicts the Coat of Arms of Prince Archbishop Paris Lodron.

photo (c) visit-salzburg.net


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