Located in the heart of the old city, Salzburg’s Residenzplatz is the place to be on a sunny evening – if only for the people watching. It’s bounded on all sides by famous buildings such as the Dom (“Cathedral”), Michaelskirche, the Glockenspiel, and Salzburg’s Residenz palace (a.k.a the Alte Residenz or “Old Residence”). The Residenzplatz also holds the Residenzbrunnen, the largest Baroque fountain of its kind outside of Italy.
It should surprise no one who has been in Salzburg for more than a day that the Residenzplatz is the brainchild of Prince Archishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau. To make room for his grand vision, he bowled 55 existing burgher’s houses in 1587, just before he began eyeing up the aging cathedral for a resurrection. Archaeologists have found a late 16th century cemetery lurking under the square.