HELLBRUNN - A PLEASURE PLACE

The walls of the pleasure palace in Hellbrunn shine with a new luster. The Chinese paper tapestries dating from 1750 was completely restored and returned, bearing witness to the Chinoiserie of the 18th century. China's popularity at that time was based on the fascination with exotic eastern cultures and the concept of a peaceful empire whose unbounded population was educated in literature and philosophy down to the lowest peasant.

Three significant large fresco-style oil paintings also returned to Hellbrunn. They depict mythical battles and fighting animals and are enlarged copies of wall frescoes painted by the famous Renaissance painter and Raphael student Giulio Romano in the Palazzo Te's Camera delle Aquile in Mantua. Archbishop Markus Sittikus may have received them from Mantua as a gift. Having been missing since World War II, they returned to their former location to decorate the walls of the Carabinieri Hall in Hellbrunn Palace.

The main attraction are the famous Trick Fountains. During a tour of the pleasure gardens and their romantic grottos visitors experience a variety of aquatic surprises and jokes which have been planned with superb artistry. The trick fountains and the palace have hardly been modified since they were built nearly 400 years ago. The spacious park which extends across 60 hectares is a splendid example of exquisite landscape architecture. Its appearance today is just the way the Salzburg Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus had designed it in the style of Italian pleasure gardens and the natural stone quarry in Hellbrunn was transformed into a stage, creating the 'Steintheater' (Stone Theater) which is the oldest open-air stage in Europe.

The Folklore Museum in the 'Monatsschlössl' and the Hellbrunn Zoo are well worth seeing.