The Sound Of Music's Austrian Lowland Filming

The 1965 film The Sound of Music was shot in various locations in and around Salzburg, including the Mirabell Palace Gardens, the old town of Salzburg, the basilica in Mondsee, and many more. The film is based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp and is set in Salzburg, Austria. It is a fictional retelling of her experiences as governess to seven children, her eventual marriage with their father, and their escape during the Anschluss in 1938. The movie made Salzburg and its surroundings famous worldwide, with over 300,000 fans visiting Austria every year to walk in the footsteps of the von Trapp family.

The film was shot in Salzburg, Mondsee and the Austrian Lake District

The film adaptation of the musical "The Sound of Music" was shot in various locations in Salzburg, Mondsee, and the Austrian Lake District. The opening aerial shots of the film showcase the Salzkammergut, the Lake District in Salzburg. The castles featured in these shots are Kloster Höglwörth, a monastery on a peninsula, and Schloss Anif, located a few miles south of Salzburg.

The mountain where Maria, played by Julie Andrews, makes her first appearance is Mehlweg, near the Bavarian village of Markt Schellenberg, about six miles from Salzburg. Birch trees and a babbling brook were added to the location for the movie. The exterior shots of Maria's abbey were filmed at the Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg, while the interiors were recreated in the studio. The abbey overlooks the nondescript southern suburbs, but the film depicts it as overlooking the picturesque old town of Salzburg.

The Villa Von Trapp, where Maria works as a governess, is a combination of two locations in Salzburg. The tree-shaded lane where Maria arrives is Hellbrunner Allee, and the country house used for the exterior shots is Schloss Frohnburg. The lakeside terrace was filmed at Schloss Leopoldskron, a castle on a small artificial lake southwest of Salzburg.

The gazebo featured in the "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" scene was originally located on the grounds of Schloss Leopoldskron but was moved to the ornamental gardens of Schloss Hellbrunn due to constant trespassing. The interior shots of the gazebo were recreated at 20th Century-Fox studios in Hollywood. Maria's wedding scene was filmed at St. Michael's Church in Mondsee, about 15 miles east of Salzburg.

The Anschluss scene, depicting Austria's unification with Nazi Germany, was staged in Residenzplatz in Salzburg's old town. The music festival where the Von Trapp family performs was filmed at the Felsenreitschule, a theatre built into a rock quarry in the 17th century.

While the cemetery where the Von Trapp family hides from the Nazis was a Hollywood set, it was designed based on St. Peter's Graveyard in Salzburg. The family escapes over the mountains near the village of Obersalzburg, with views of the Untersberg in the distance.

The opening aerial shots feature the Salzkammergut, Kloster Höglwörth and Schloss Anif

The opening aerial shots of The Sound of Music feature several locations in Austria's Lake District, Salzkammergut.

The first of these is Kloster Höglwörth, a 12th-century monastery on a peninsula in Höglwörther See. Built in 1125, the abbey is dedicated to the Apostles Peter and Paul. The monastery sits on Lake Högelwörth and features the attributes of the rococo style, typical of its renovation in 1675. However, the original choir remains.

The second location is Schloss Anif, a castle situated on the southern edge of Salzburg, overlooking an artificial pond. For this reason, it is sometimes called the Water Palace. Schloss Anif has an ecclesiastical history, as it used to be the residence of the Bishop of Chiemsee. The castle has undergone several renovations and has a neo-gothic appearance today.

Maria's first appearance was filmed on Mehlweg mountain

The opening scene of 'The Sound of Music' was filmed in the Bavarian Alps, near the town of Marktschellenberg, about six miles from Salzburg. Maria's first appearance was filmed on Mehlweg Mountain, where she is seen twirling and singing "The Hills are Alive". The mountain is located in Germany, just across the border from Austria. The iconic scene features six different shots of Maria, including one from the air, as well as scenes of her walking among birch trees, crossing a stream, climbing a bluff, and walking along its crest.

Mehlweg Mountain is a significant location for fans of the movie, as it is where Maria, played by Julie Andrews, makes her memorable entrance. The mountain is privately owned and used for agriculture, so it is not accessible to the public. However, fans can still visit other nearby locations featured in the film, such as the Mirabell Palace and Gardens in Salzburg, where the "Do Re Mi" scene was filmed, and the Nonnberg Abbey Convent, where Maria lived in the movie.

The film crew faced some challenges during the filming of "The Sound of Music" due to Salzburg's heavy rain, which extended the shooting schedule from six weeks to eleven weeks. Despite this, the movie has become a beloved classic, drawing thousands of fans to Austria each year to visit the iconic filming locations.

The 'Villa Von Trapp' was a combination of two locations: Schloss Frohnburg and Schloss Leopoldskron

The Villa Von Trapp was a combination of two locations: the exterior scenes were filmed at Schloss Frohnburg, and the lakeside terrace scenes were filmed at Schloss Leopoldskron.

The tree-shaded lane, where Maria alights from the bus, is Hellbrunner Allee, running south from the old town of Salzburg. Here, you will recognise Schloss Frohnburg, a 17th-century country house, now the Mozarteum Music Academy. It was used for the intimidating gates and front entrance of the villa which Maria nervously approaches.

The lakeside terrace, however, was filmed at Schloss Leopoldskron, a rococo castle on Leopoldskroner Teich, a small artificial lake on the southwest side of the town. The palace's golden ballroom and foyer were rebuilt in Hollywood for interior scenes. The famous gazebo originally stood on the palace's grounds but was moved to a more accessible location.

The wedding scene was filmed in Mondsee Cathedral

The wedding scene in The Sound of Music was filmed at the Basilica of St. Michael in Mondsee, a picturesque lakeside town less than 20 minutes' drive from Salzburg. The church is a late-Gothic structure dating back to the 15th century and is the second-largest church in Upper Austria. The interior of the basilica is expansive, with two towers extending 52 meters in height. The building's bright, pastel colour scheme welcomes tourists and parishioners alike to this popular place of pilgrimage and devotion.

The site of the wedding scene is a popular attraction for fans of The Sound of Music, with up to 200,000 visitors per year. The film depicts Maria and Georg von Trapp's wedding, but in reality, Maria Augusta von Trapp married Georg at Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg in 1927.

The town of Mondsee is situated at an elevation of 493 meters alongside Lake Mondsee, also known as Moon Lake. The area was once part of Bavaria, but it has been part of Austria since 1506, except for a brief period during the Napoleonic era. Mondsee has a population of around 4,000 people and is well worth a visit, offering beautiful scenery and famous apple strudel and vanilla ice cream.

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