Contemporary Altstadt Art

A golden sphere sits atop a tall, thin pillar in the middle of Kapitelplatz. Perched on that sphere stands the figure of a man in a plain white shirt and dark trousers. Stephan Balkenhol carved this nine-ton statue from mahogany in two…

The head of Awilda rises eleven meters above the surface of the Salzach River, a massive, porcelain-white portrait of a young girl with her eyes closed. Created by the Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, the sculpture rests on a submerged…

The Haus im Furtwänglerpark stands as a long, low glass box hugging the edge of the park. It houses the administrative offices for the Salzburg Festival, serving as the central nervous system for one of the world's largest music events. In…

The Gürken sits tucked into a narrow alleyway, identifiable by the ancient, weathered wooden door frame that leans slightly against the neighboring stone. This building houses one of the city's oldest continuous candle-making workshops.…

The sculpture Homage to Mozart features a large, cracked bronze sphere resting on a square base, with a smaller golden ball suspended inside the opening. Created by the artist Markus Lüpertz, the piece occupies the Mozartplatz. Salzburg…

The Staatsbrücke carries traffic over the Salzach River on three heavy stone arches decorated with coats of arms. It replaced a series of wooden structures that regularly succumbed to the river’s flooding or ice jams. In nineteen hundred…

The Spirit of Mozart sculpture stands near the Mirabell Gardens, defined by a jagged, bronze torso that twists upward into a tangle of musical notes and sharp, abstract limbs. This monument captures the turbulent energy of Wolfgang Amadeus…

The Caldera sculpture in Salzburg sits on a circular stone island in the middle of a reflecting pool. It consists of a charred, iron cast of a human figure curled into a fetal position, suspended inside a jagged, hollowed-out bronze shell.…