Salzburg Museum

Housed in the Neuen Residenz (to which it moved in 2005), the Salzburg Museum is the museum of artistic and cultural history for the city and region of Salzburg, Austria. It originated as the Provincialmuseum and was also previously known as the Museum Carolino-Augusteum.

History

Origins

The Salzburg Museum was founded in 1834 when a small collection of military memorabilia was made accessible to the public to formalize the memories of the Napoleonic wars. After the revolution in 1848, the collection became the official town museum of Salzburg.

20th century

In 1923, the natural history objects of the museum were given to the Haus de Natur. One year later, the folk culture collection opened a side-branch in the Monatsschlössl in the parks of Hellbrunn Palace.

During WWII, the museum got three direct hits from bombs. Most of the collection had already been moved to mines that served as bunkers; however, the building was completely destroyed along with many objects too large to move. Several objects disappeared from their bunkers during the US occupation, including a collection of gold coins that had been kept in the salt mines of Hallein. A new building was opened as a provisory museum in 1967. A debate about the final and most worthy location for the headquarters of the Salzburg Museum lasted for decades. Side-branches of the Salzburg Museum were opened during this time: The Domgrabungsmuseum in 1974, the Spielzeugmuseum (Toy Museum) in 1978, and a newly developed Festungsmuseum (Fortress Museum) in 2000. By 1997, promoted by Landeshauptmann Franz Schausberger, local politicians had finally agreed on the Neue Residenz as a new venue for the Salzburg Museum.

Salzburg

Salzburg (German pronunciation: [ˈzaltsbʊɐ̯k];Bavarian: Såizburg; literally: "Salt Fortress") is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg.

Salzburg's "Old Town" (Altstadt) is internationally renowned for its baroque architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city has three universities and a large population of students. Tourists also frequent the city to tour the city's historic center and the scenic Alpine surroundings.

Salzburg was the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the mid‑20th century, the city was the setting for the musical play and film The Sound of Music.

History

Antiquity to the High Middle Ages

Traces of human settlements have been found in the area, dating to the Neolithic Age. The first settlements in Salzburg continuous with the present were apparently by the Celts around the 5th century BC.

Around 15 BC the separate settlements were merged into one city by the Roman Empire. At this time, the city was called "Juvavum" and was awarded the status of a Roman municipium in 45 AD. Juvavum developed into an important town of the Roman province of Noricum. After the collapse of the Norican frontier, Juvavum declined so sharply that by the late 7th century it nearly became a ruin.

Museum

A museum (/mjuˈziːəm/; myoo-zee-um) is an institution that cares for (conserves) a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities throughout the world and more local ones exist in smaller cities, towns and even the countryside. Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public. The goal of serving researchers is increasingly shifting to serving the general public.

Some of the most attended museums include the Louvre in Paris, the National Museum of China in Beijing, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the British Museum in London, the National Gallery in London and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. There are many types of museums, including art museums, natural history museums, science museums, war museums and children's museums.