Salzburg Residenz

An episcopal residence was first documented in the area of today's Residenz around 1120. This mediaeval episcopal seat was extended several times before being demolished by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich to make way for a new, Italianate building. Subsequent prince-archbishops, with the best architects and artisans of the time, continued to furnish the Residenz in magnificent style, and from this centre they directed the fortunes of the principality. In those days, the Residenz was of great cultural importance. The state-rooms were used for theatre and concert performances and for grand receptions. In 1614, the Carabinierisaal was the scene of the first opera performance north of the Alps. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, aged seven, gave his first court recital in the conference room, and some of his early works were premièred in his presence in the Rittersaal.

After the secularisation of the Prince-Archbishopric in 1803, the Old Residenz was used by the Habsburgs. It was in the Rittersaal that, on 1 May 1816, Emperor Franz I received the homage and the oath of allegiance of the Salzburg estates – which marked the beginning of Salzburg's affiliation to Austria. On his visits to Salzburg, Emperor Franz Joseph also stayed in the Residenz, where he received the (later) German Emperor Wilhelm I in 1865 and Emperor Napoleon III of France in 1867, on state visits.

The Salzburg Residenz has been in the possession of the Province of Salzburg since 1974. The state-rooms and the Residenzgalerie (founded in 1955) with its collection of 16th-19th-century European paintings can be visited as part of the DomQuartier tour. In addition, receptions, conferences and international congresses are held in the Residenz. The Toscana wing in the north section of the building now houses the Law Faculty of Salzburg University.