Salzburg–Dec. 3, 2025

First, a few random photos..

A paint store near the hotel.

Hood of a black Mini Cooper with a decal in style of a mexican day-of-the-dead skull

Large sculpture of woman’s head made up of vertically stacked layers of stone

Arched entranceway; under the arch is a statue of person leaning on large club

Festung (Fortress)

Today I went uphill yet again to see the Festung. It has several museums inside.

View of fortress taken at steep angle from below. A round tower is at the left.

Decoration on a wire fence; it looks like four leaves at right angles to each other, joined at the stem with an orange button

Steep ramp up to fortress. At side, christmas stars are placed at regular intervals

Photo of fortress, taken upwards at steep angle from below

Arch with yellow-painted “stones” at top

Pyramid of cannonballs embedded in concrete

Ancient weapon that looks like a barrel. It is mounted on a cart with wheels.

Model of fortress; it is white, meant to look as if built from salt

This model is designed to look as if made of salt (Salz in German, hence Salzburg).

Carving of shield showing lion standing on its hind legs.

Some views from the top...

View of city from fortress. The river is at the upper left.

Man with glasses and English driver’s cap, wearing puffy white coat. He is standing at the top of the fortress. At left, a small tower; at right, the city and river below are visible.

Man with glasses and English driver’s cap, wearing puffy white jacket. To left, a round tower of the fortress.

Interior of church on fortress grounds showing altar. Christmas tree at left.

Brass instruments (like trumpet horns) connected with tubing

Cannon with red wheels and red-and-white striped base

Mannequin wearing chain mail, helmet, and red robe/jacket; has two swords at waist.

Sundial next to a reliefwork crucifixion scene

Bronze bust of bald man with very impressive handlebar moustache

This is Archduke Rainer Ferdinand. Way to rock that moustache, dude!

Display case with three Prussian-style military dress coats

Double-eagle shield of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, with colorful enameled metalwork

The military displays end with World War I.

Elegant room with wooden arches that appear to be “nested”

Painting of two shields with a radish (or turnip) on each one

Not sure of the symbolism here.

Colored statue of man holding a tree; child perched on shoulder. Around it, gold half-spheres on the wall

Large squared-off “pyramid” covered in ceramic tiles

Colorful heraldic shields that tile a ceiling

Room with paino at right; a floor-mounted candelabra is in front of the piano

Bearded man in chain mail. He is wearing a crown with a cross on it and is holding a broadsword

Cabinet decorated with painted ceramic work

Man holding on to tree, cherub on his shoulder. Dated 1502? in old medieval numerals

Long view of fortress clock tower and ancient plaque

Plaques

This appears to have become the theme for today. Some of the dates are difficult to read because they use medieval numerals instead of the ones we’re used to nowadays. These things are old.

1635

1588

1506

1401

1666

1669

1715

1496

1511

1756

Ground Level

I then made my way to the Museum of Natural History. Here are some pictures along the way.

Wall of University of Salzburg building, with pictures labeled Theology, Jurisprudence, Medicine, and Philosophy.

Statue of man with shaggy beard and leaf girdle, holding club in one hand and red-painted shield in other.

Stone sculpture of heads at right angles. One is a tragedy mask, the other a neutral, bearded figure

In front of the Großes Festspielhaus (Large Festival Hall), which has a theaters in it.

Two sculpted stone heads; the neutral figure and the comedy mask

Haus der Natur (Natural History Museum)

This museum also connects with the museum of science and technology.

They have an aquarium:

And a minerals display. If you’ve followed my trip reports, you know I can’t resist getting pictures of that.

Various samples of gold ore; at bottom,, gold coins

Various samples of red/orange tourmaline crystals

An exhibit about Mars...

Display about Mars; large cutout of Mars rover at left; mannequin in spacesuit at right

Two LED tubes; left one shows how high you jump on Mars vs. on Earth (in cm) Readouts have 92 cm for Mars and 34 cm for Earth.

You jump as high as you can, and the displays tell you how high you jumped on Earth and how high you could jump on Mars.

There’s a whole section dedicated to Christian Doppler.

Display about Christian Doppler and the double stars

The museum has a living reptile/amphibian exhibit:

Brown frog with black spots sitting on tree branch; side view

This exhibit about the universe...

Model of all the planets in the solar system (not to scale)

Also contains an exhibit about the lunar landing in 1969.

Astronaut on surface of moon; Lunar Excursion Module at right

This detail of a diorama of people watching the moon landing has a bottle of whiskey on the table (partially shown) and Manner Schnitten, a very popular cookie from Austria. Note the ashtray, which is something of a rarity nowadays, at least in the US.

The headline on the newspaper says (loosely translated) “The moon has been conquered: the mission tasks are fulfilled.”

Detail of diorama of people watching moon landing. Newspaper headline: Der Mond is bezwungen: Alle Aufgaben sind erfüllt. A package of Manner Schnitten is at the top of a table, an ashtray in the middle, and a glass of liquor at the right

A description of the camera attached to the leg of the lunar lander; it was specially designed to withstand the temperature extremes on the moon.

Picture of camera attached to leg of lunar lander.

Of course, a museum of natural history has to have taxidermied animals...

Two taxidermied anteaters; one with a thin tapered nose, one with more normal features

Taxidermied animals including bear, badger, red panda

Models showing differences between European wild cat and domesticated cats

Display showing many different breeds of dogs

At last, an evolution chart that shows the correct tree structure rather than a linear structure!

Chart showing various primates with a correct tree structured chart

This exhibit of human skulls was removed “because the representation of the cultures of Papua New Guina should not be reduced to the practice of making such ancestor skulls. An appropriate presentation of other cultures would have to show far more aspects of their way of life, their worldview and their everyday life.”

Placard saying an exhibit has been removed and explaining why

Here’s a section related to the five senses:

Large model of a finger with information about sense of touch

If you press both buttons simultaneously, as instructed, you get an electrical shock through your fingers. (The display warns you about this.)

Model showing inner and outer ear structures

Large model of nose with information about sense of smell.

Large model of tongue with information about sense of taste

In middle of room, a large model of the brain. At left, a large eye that has associated information about vision.

And, lastly, a display about human sexuality. Interestingly, this section does not have English translation. Possibly because they didn’t want Americans to cause a stir.

Sexuality without the Fig Leaf - the biological and medical facts

As a platform for an open and sensitive encounter with one’s own sexuality, this exhibit area is designed to impart the biology between finding a partner and starting a family. Brilliant models and photographs, exhibits and interactive areas illustrate the miracle of reproduction and raise awareness of one's own health.

If you are a man, you choose the most attractive woman. When you make your choice, the display shows what percentage of people have chosen each person.

Picture of 12 women: Sie sind ein Mann! Wählen Sie ihre attraktivste Frau!

And the same for women choosing the most attractive man.

Photo with 12 men. Sie sind eine Frau! Wählen Sie Ihren attraktivsten Mann!

This poster talks about several different sexual identities and orientations, as well as sexual identity.

Poster describing different sexual identities

Miscellaneous

Two stickers...

Sticker showing two police with moustaches kissing. Text: Cops are gay