Kapuzinerkirche und Kloster, Salzburg, Austria

Kapuzinerkirche und Kloster, Salzburg, Austria

The Church and Monastery of the Capuchins sits on the edge of the Kapuzinerberg – the highest hill in the city. You can find outstanding views of Salzburg from almost every side, but especially at the Kanzel (“pulpit”). To get there, try the walk through the Felix Gate off the Linzer Gasse or the stone steps near Steingasse 9.

The monastery owes its existence to, surprise, surprise, Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau. When he wasn’t working on the Residenzplatz, destroying the old cathedral, or embellishing his new Baroque Residenz palace, he was inviting the Capuchin monks to settle on the site of a former medieval military tower called the Trompeterschlössl.

It’s said that the monastery’s late Gothic oak door on the inner portal is a relic of the old Dom. However, since the monastery is still active, only the church can be visited.