Hellbrunn Castle in Salzburg

Hellbrunn Castle is an early Baroque villa located in the south of Salzburg and is best known for its jeux d’eau („watergames“). It was built in the years 1613-1615 by the prince-archbishop Markus Sittikus von Hohenems, the architect was Santino Solari.

Sittikus wanted to have a palace in the style of the Italian Mannerism. Since he only used it as a day residence there are no bedrooms in the castle. The villa is famous for its octagon as well as for the fishroom and the birdroom.

One of the great Salzburg tourist attractions in the summer is the jeux d’eau – a water installation with various practical jokes to be performed on guests but also some remarkable statues, fountains and grottoes. The prince-archbishop Andreas Jakob von Dietrichstein added a mechanic theatre to the area next to the watergames.

Other things to see at Hellbrunn are the geometrically arranged main pond with its little islands and lovely sculptures as well as the sacral gardens resembling a Calvary.

On the hill of Hellbrunn there is an open air theatre which was hewn in one of the existing rocks and opened in 1617 with the opera „L’Orfeo“ by Claudio Monteverdi. It is said that this was the first opera performance in Central Europe ever.

The alley leading to the Hellbrunn Castle is the oldest alley in Central Europe. In the park of Hellbrunn there is also a zoo with 140 species and 800 animals.

A visit at Hellbrunn Castle should be on your list of things to do in Salzburg! Hotel Kamml is close to Salzburg and there is a bus which takes you from the centre to Hellbrunn in 25 minutes. For more information send us a non-binding booking request.