Getreidegasse is probably the busiest pedestrian thoroughfare in Austria. (I was about to say Europe, but then I remembered the horrors of a Venice summer.)

It was the main street through Salzburg in the medieval period, and was regularly flooded with water from the Almkanal to keep it tidy. Today, you’re more likely to run into Americans singing a’cappella renditions of Pink Floyd than the doctors and craftsmen who once lived here.

Getreidegasse is the street where Mozart was born, which accounts for a lot of the popularity. The intricate guild signs encrusted with gold are another attraction. Where once there were breweries and charity bathhouses, there are now international jewelry shops, Mozart chocolates and a tastefully camouflaged McDonald’s.

 

• Schlüssel = Key
• Dienst = Service

(Schlüssel is a useful word to know if you’re locked out of your room at 3 a.m. in the morning and have been drinking with Austrians.)

Myth would have it that Getreidegasse is called “Cereal Alley” – from a time when it was the major road through Salzburg towards Bavaria (and its grain fields).

Myth is, as usual, mistaken. The street’s medieval name was Trabegasse, and the word seems to have morphed throughout the centuries into its present form. But why get in the way of a good story?