Cultural highlights in SalzburgerLand
At the end of May, when the last ski lifts have closed and nature has been given a new lease of life after its well-deserved break, you can enjoy numerous cultural activities in SalzbugerLand in spring and summer:
Art and Culture Golling Festival
Who could have imagined 25 years ago that a simple idea, offering Döllerer’s regular guests not just culinary delights but also musical enjoyment, would grow into an entire summer festival? The Kleine Festspiele have expanded over the years, delighting audiences with acclaimed musicians and stage legends. Today, up to 300 guests attend each of the 20 summer performances, and the culinary highlight, the Festspiel Soupers at Döllerer’s, has become a beloved tradition.
stage-burg-golling
The Goldegg Dialogues
The Goldegg Dialogues are one of those cultural events that change you, that give you food for thought and new ideas. Once a year, people get together on Goldegg’s sunny plateau and discuss a specific topic. Seminars and conversations take place in the heart of inspiring natural surroundings around Goldegg Castle.
Mattseer Diabelli Summer
Pure summer vibes are promised every year by this music festival in the Salzburger Seenland, named after the Mattsee-born composer Anton Diabelli. Since the summer of 2000, international artists have been coming together at Mattsee. The hallmark of this established festival is its exciting mix of musical styles – from refined classical music with a modern twist, to jazz and swing, and high-quality folk music. Every year, the Mattseer Diabelli Summer offers a varied and engaging program.
© TVB Mattsee – Chateau Mattsee
Jazz Festival Saalfelden
Saalfelden has become firmly established in the world of jazz. The jazz festival took place at the end of August 2016 for the 37th time and as always had an outstanding programme. An added bonus: concerts are not only held on large stages, you can also enjoy music in a meadow as well as in the middle of the town in the open air.
© Artisual.at – Das Jazzfestival Saalfelden begeistert Musikfans
sommer.frische.kunst, Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein, once known as the Monte Carlo of the Alps, is gradually regaining its former glory. Partly responsible for this is the sommer.frische.kunst festival in Bad Gastein, which is home to renowned artists and puts together an excellent programme of workshops and exhibitions. Take a day trip to this charming town, you won’t regret it. Or better still, stay for several days to truly feel what it’s like to be in a town full of art.
© Werner Gritzbach – sommer.frische.kunst Bad Gastein
Salzburg’s Bauernherbst harvest festival
For some people, summer is the time for relaxing and holidays. But for farmers it means work, work and more work. They naturally get to celebrate in autumn when it’s quieter in the pastures and all of the animals and people have returned to the valleys safe and sound. September and October is full of traditions. You can celebrate the harvest festival with the locals and other holidaymakers while brass bands playing in the villages sweeten the golden autumn evenings. Or visit one of the many folk music festivals, with accordion music and gstanzl songs, with bacon, alp cheese and good farmhouse bread that many a tourist will remember for a long time to come. The Bauernherbst runs from the end of August until the end of October and is celebrated with fervour in the Innergebirg regions – simply a must.
© SalzburgerLand Tourismus, Coen Kossmann – Bauernherbst festival in Lammertal
Insider tip: The HeuART in Lammertal takes place every year at the end of August and shows what can be done with hay apart from just feeding it to cattle. The parade is accompanied by a colourful festival, with everything from huge sculptures to elegant (and probably also itchy) clothes.
Mountain Advent and the Christmas season
As the year draws to an end, Christmas comes to SalzburgerLand. And life becomes calmer once the first snow has fallen in the valleys. This makes the get-togethers and festivals during the Advent period even more warm-hearted – be it at the Advent concerts in the churches, the Christmas markets or the nativity plays. You can listen to alp horns in Grossarl valley and hear horses snorting as they pull carriages through the snow-covered landscapes in the Pinzgau valleys. But the only place you will find a flurry of activity is where you would in fact expect an oasis of calm – the Christmas preparations in Oberndorf operate at full stretch and guests from all over the world flock here as about 200 years ago Silent Night was sung here for the first time. But calm is restored here as soon as it is Christmas Eve.
So you see that you would actually need to move to SalzburgerLand or at least come here several times a year to experience everything that goes on in the state. We look forward to seeing you …
In Salzburg city
Spring to summer – festival time
Snow may still lie on the mountain peaks, but it’s still the start of the festival season in Salzburg. Every year, the Easter, Whitsun and Salzburg Festivals turn Salzburg into a Mecca for lovers of classical music. You’ll see celebrities parading on the red carpet in front of the Festival Hall, while the locals make a pilgrimage to their Jedermann (Everyman) play or visit the Siemens Fest>Spiel>Nächte on Kapitelplatz to see some of the best performances of the last few years. You’ll notice just how unique and exciting Salzburg is during the festival season.
Autumn, the time for jazz
October in Salzburg is all about jazz. “Die Presse” newspaper described this annual event as the “most casual jazz festival in Austria”, and it’s true. Most concerts are free and you will often be spoilt for choice. Go to Republic where you can see well-known musicians on a large stage whereas only a few hundred metres down the road you can go to a small bar playing funky bebop sounds.
Advent concerts & the Christmas season
Head to Salzburg’s historic centre to experience a very special Christmas. The Christmas market around the cathedral is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. But there is much more to see, such as the Winterfest in Volksgarten, Waldklang at Waldbad Anif or the Advent market in Hellbrunn. Not forgetting the Advent concerts at the Large Festival Hall, the Castle and a number of other venues scattered around Salzburg.
© SalzburgerLand Tourismus – Christkindlmarkt in the city of Salzburg
