The best time to visit Salzburg, Austria, especially if you are a classical music buff, is in the summer time, specifically in July when the Saltzburg Festival starts.

The Salzburg Festival

The Salzburg Festival opens near the end of the month and has been since 1926. This is an arts festival that is known all over the world. It continues until the end of August (6 weeks total). People come from near and far to see the plays, musical performances, and other artistic entertainment that goes on during the festival. There is always something to do and something to see during this time of the year. You will see concerts ranging from symphony music to opera and theater is performed on the streets of the city at any given time during the day or night. Many of the rich and famous from Central Europe and all over the world will congregate in Salzburg to see the sites. You can hear opera and folk songs in the same day. However, there are other activities that take advantage of the crowds that the city draws during this time. There are all kinds of other events including a golf tournament and other mini festivals near by.

The Month of July

There are still other things to do besides attending the festival in July making this a jam packed month of activities in the area. July 25th is St. Jacob’s Day. St. Jacob is the patron saint of shepherds and is honored in Salzburg. There are dance ceremonies and a traditional wrestling match on Mount Hundsstein where the air is thin and wrestling is harder. This match has taken place since the middle ages and the winner gets the title of “Hagmoar” and acknowledgment of other males in the village.

On Mount Dürrnberg in not to far away Hallein there are salt mines. The miner’s guild performs the ancient sword dance or “schwerttanz” for tourists. Also south of Salzburg in Muhr and Zederhause Prangstangen poles are carried in a ceremony during July. These poles are like May poles decorated with flowers. Legend says the villagers swore they would carry the decorated poles around if they were kept safe from the wrath of grasshoppers. Villagers decorate with over 50,000 flowers and unmarried young men carry them around. On July 15th they are placed in the church until another festival comes on August 15th.

International Jazz Festival

There is an International Jazz Festival in Saalfelden, just south of Salzburg that lasts for three days in late August. Back in Hallein there is an International Folk Festival and you can hear European folk music.