The Sound of Music

When I was around seven years old, Mom wanted me to see a new movie at the local theater. I really didn't want to go, since if a grownup liked it, I figured I wouldn't. But she insisted, so off we went.  From the opening scene, I was glad we did!  I instantly fell in love with the Alps, the music of Rogers and Hammerstein and the beautiful place called Austria.

Over the years, Europe seemed so far away that it was hard to imagine actually traveling there. But imagination eventually matured, inspired action and the time came when the streets of Salzburg were right before my very eyes.

Although the movie was filmed in 1964, most of the scene locations are still easily recognizable. Here's what some of them look like as of September '06. As always, you can click on the picture to see a larger size.

Lake Wolfgangsee appeared in an aerial view at the beginning.

Maria's Hill is located at Mehlweg in Germany - This view from the opening scene looks south. One of the distant peaks just right of center is the location of the final scene of the movie where the family climbed their way to freedom.

The Untersberg as seen from Maria's Hill

Road to Nonnberg

Entrance to Nonnberg

Nonnberg Courtyard

Nonnberg Courtyard

Nonnberg Exit

The horse in the Residenz Fountain that Maria splashed water on - The Kapitelplatz and Residenzplatz were both in the middle of a huge street fair when I was there so there wasn't much to photograph from the movie viewpoint.

Frohnburg Entrance

Frohnburg - The front and rear exteriors of this mansion provided the facades for the movie villa.

Frohnburg (where they pushed the car)

Leopoldskron - never appeared in the movie, although you can see some of the garden behind it when Rolf is throwing pebbles at the window and when Maria returns from the Abbey. The actual movie setting on the lake was next door at Bertelsmann.

Leopoldskron with the Bertelsmann scene location at the lower left

Closeup of the Bertelsmann location - The terrace is still there, as is the square shaped shrubbery. The gate is gone and the trees have of course changed after 40+ years. The statues beside the gates are no longer there but one of the pedastals for them still stands on the right.

The Bertelsmann location looking back toward the lake - The Untersberg was hiding behind some distant haze when this picture was taken.

The Bertelsmann location looking across the grounds to the corner where the Gazebo used to be

The Gazebo is now located nearby at Hellbrun Estate. So many folks were climbing the fence at Bertelsmann and dancing in the Gazebo that the decision was made to move it to a more secure location.

The Horse Pond from the "My Favorite Things" montage

Mozart Footbridge

The Werfen Picnic Field with Hohenwerfen Castle in the Background

The Werfen Picnic field - Another View

Pegasus still flies at Mirabell.

The Fountain at Mirabell

Mirabell Statues

The Arbor

The Dwarf still hasn't moved a muscle, although the tree that was behind him is no longer there to protect him from the elements. ;)

Do-Re-Mi Steps

Do-Re-Mi Steps

The Mondsee Cathedral

The Bell Towers

Steps to the Altar

Looking Down the Aisle

Looking Up

Building across from the Festival Hall where Rolf called Liesel over to give her a telegraph - It's named The Toscaninihof, apparently after an Italian conductor who worked in Salzburg in the 1930's

Side Entrance of the Festival Hall (also known as The Felsenreitschule) where Max and the children emerged after practicing

Interior of the Festival Hall - As you can see, it was in the process of renovation. The seats toward the front of the hall are attached to the metal platform on the left and were hoisted up out of the way.

The Ahornbuchsenkopf - This is the "Climb Every Mountain" mountain. I always wondered about the building on the ridge in the background. It's named Purtschellerhaus and is a protection hut for alpine hikers. It is open from the middle of May to the end of October and if you hike up there, you can have something to eat and a roof over your head for the night. The hut's location is also notable in that the Austrian-German border runs right through the center of the kitchen.

Another View from the Ahornbuchsenkopf. The hikers hut appears at the upper left. The ridge the movie Von Trapps walked across at the close of the movie is in the center. And at the top of the distant ridge to the right is Hitler's Kelstein House (sometimes called the Eagle's Nest) which can be seen for a moment in the closing scene.

From the Ahornbuchsenkopf, looking to the North, and the final scene of the movie. In the distance, the Untersberg towers over Salzburg. To the right, Maria's Hill can be seen at Melweg.

Ed. Note - Though I was interested in the interior scenes as well; with the exception of the Mondsee Cathedral and the Festival Hall, there really isn't much to photograph. Almost all of the interiors were shot in studios and I have been unable to located any of the sets. I heard that the ballroom set was eventually donated to the Hollywood Museum, but the museum never got off the ground and I don't know what happened to it. I did come across the "Lonely Goatherd" puppets in a museum in Iowa this past summer. Look for some pictures of them in a future update. :)