Stadion Salzburg Wals-Seizenheim (capacity 30,000)
- the stadium opened in 2003 and the capacity will be increased
for the finals.
Salzburg is known throughout the world as a festival city
and for its historic Old City, which nestles within an impressive landscape.
With a population of 140,000, the city is visited by hundreds of thousands
of tourists from all corners of the globe every year. UEFA EURO 2008™
will represent the culmination of a whole series of successful major sporting
events held in Salzburg.
Old settlement
Salzburg lies on very old settlement territory. This can be proved by
prehistoric discoveries which stretch back to the Neolithic age. The extraction
of salt at Durnberg bei Hallein, and the related trade, led in the Hallstatt
age (approx. 1000-450 BC) to a well-populated settlement. In the Roman
age, Salzburg (Juvavum) under Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) received municipal
status as a city.
Building work
The modern-day face of Salzburg, with its baroque Old City, emerged in
the 17th and 18th centuries, as the bishops Wolf Dietrich, Markus Sittikus
und Paris Lodron left their mark on the city through intensive building
work. More than 100 churches, castles and palaces continue today to show
the power of the archbishops in Salzburg.
Mozart's birthplace
On 27 January 1756, the city's most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
was born as the seventh child of Leopold Mozart and his wife, who came
from St Gilgen near Salzburg, Anna Maria Walpurga. Between 1747 and 1773,
the family lived in a house at Getreidegasse No.9. The apartment is now
a museum. The most renowned exhibition pieces are, among other things,
the violin that Mozart played as a child, his concert violin, the piano
forte, portraits and letters.
Festival city
It was in 1816 that Salzburg – in its capacity as a new crown land
– became part of Habsburg Austria. At the beginning of the 20th century,
the founding of the festival gave Salzburg new impetus, which affects
the cultural life in the city even today. The artistic programme for the
festival, which takes place nowadays from the end of July to the end of
August, involves no less than 38 festival days and some 180 concerts in
eleven different venues.
Trade city
In the years after the Second World War, Salzburg developed into one of
Austria's most important trade cities and has become one of the most visited
tourist centres. The film 'Sound of Music' – with Julie Andrews in
the leading role – was filmed in Salzburg in 1964. It was a resounding
success: ten Oscar nominations, almost 1,500 Broadway performances as
a musical, six Tony awards and more than three million albums sold. Salzburg
became a UNESCO World Heritage Centre on 1 January 1997.
