If you are visiting Salzburg, you should not miss out on a visit to Hellbrunn Palace. Although it is a true tourist magnet, the water features were an unforgettable experience for me.
We chose to make the journey to Hellbrunn by boat. An excursion boat took us to a mooring and from there a bus brought us to the castle.
The trip on the Salzach was beautiful and full of nice impressions of the surroundings. We made our way back by public transport; bus 25 brings you back to the city.
Hellbrunn Palace
In 1612, Markus Sittikus von Hohenems was elected as a prince-bishop. He had his pleasure-palace Hellbrunn built outside the gates of Salzburg. You can visit the castle and discover some remarkable rooms. I particularly liked the fish room, the bird room and the Oktogon.
You shouldn’t miss the castle garden. It is one of the most important architectural sites under monument protection in Austria. The various parks are freely accessible and a popular recreational area of the Salzburg region. Especially when the weather is nice, a walk here was really a wonderful opportunity to unwind.
I found a video on an official website about Salzburg that captured some nice impressions of the Hellbrunn Palace.
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Water features
The water features can only be visited on a group tour. The number of people per group is limited and so it may happen that you have to wait a little. But it’s really worth it.
The water features of Hellbrunn are located in a secluded area of the castle park. The Archbishop Markus Sittikus von Hohenems built it in 1613, after similar Italian water features. Today, they are recognised as one of the best-preserved water features of the Renaissance.
We enjoyed the tour together with a group of very perky Arabs, ready to get into every mischief the guide suggested. They were happy to volunteer so that the rest of the group was saved from some “wet surprises” the guide had up his sleeves.
On our way around the water features, we admired beautiful grottoes and fountains. I was delighted by the moving figures, which required enormous skill and technical understanding to be made at the time. I had a lot of fun in the Theatre with its Princely Table.
I do not want to reveal too much about the water features to avoid spoilers – but watch out, carefully observe your surroundings and make sure to cover any expensive or sensitive piece of equipment you might carry.
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I found this video on an official website about Salzburg. For me, the visit to Hellbrunn Palace was a great day trip that I highly recommend.
Address:
Fürstenweg 37,
5020 Salzburg, Austria
Opening hours:
31 March, April 09:30 – 17:30
Last admission 16:30
May, June 09:30 – 18:30
Last admission 17:30
July, August 09:30 – 19:00
Last admission 18:00
September 09:30 – 18:30
Last admission 17:30
October, November 1 09:30 – 17:30
Last admission 16:30
Entry fees:
The ticket includes the visit of the castle exhibition “SchauLust” with an audio guide, the visit of the water games with an audio guide and the visit of the exhibition in the Folklore Museum.
Susanne Jungbluth
We bought the ticket directly on the boat and did not ride the return trip. We did not want to rush and enjoy the time there.
Elizabeth
Hi, I can’t find anything about a one way boat trip to the palace. Did you buy the roundtrip boat cruise with the stop at Hellbrunn and just not return on the boat? It would be nice to take a boat one way, but I also was hoping for more time in the area to visit the folklore museum as well. Thanks!