The City of Salzburg is located by Salzach River in the heart of Salzburg Basin. It is the provincial capital of the state of the same name and, with a population of 150,000, the fourth largest city in Austria after Vienna, Graz and Linz. The north-west of the statutory city of Salzburg borders on the Free State of Bavaria, the remaining city area on the district of Salzburg-Umgebung.

In the year 488 began the decline of the Roman town of Juvavum. Salzburg was newly founded in 696 as a diocesan town and in 798 became the seat of the archbishop. Salzburg’s main revenue sources were salt production and trade as well as, at times, gold mining. Hohensalzburg Fortress in essence dates back to the 11th century. It is one of the largest mediaeval European castle complexes and is considered the city’s landmark. From the 17th century on, Archbishop Wolf Dietrich and his successors added several pompous buildings to highlight the city as a seat of power. This was when Hellbrunn Castle and its castle grounds, trick fountains and allées were constructed.

The most famous Salzburg native is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which is why the city is also called ”Salzburg, City of Mozart”. The historic centre of the city has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Today, Salzburg is an important trade fair and conference location with many trading and service companies as well as a strong tourism industry, and also known from the Salzburg Festival.

Thanks to its easy accessibility, the city forms the heart of the cross-border Euregio Salzburg – Berchtesgadener Land – Traunstein, and is a traffic hub for each of the most important West-East and transalpine road and railway routes in Europe (Munich –Vienna –Budapest, Salzburg–Tauern–Udine).