You don’t need to wait for Christmas to get in the holiday spirit in Salzburg[1], Austria[2]. The advent season is full of cheer and traditions (some of which pre-date Christianity altogether!).
Christkindlmarkts — stalls selling homemade crafts, ornaments, local food specialties like leberkase and hot mulled wine called gluhwein – line several squares in the city, and special concerts and choir performances fill the air daily.
Revelers roam the street dressed as Krampusse[3] – strange (and slightly menacing) shaggy creatures that symbolize the pagan alpine goddess, Perchta[4]. If you touch them or get swatted, consider yourself lucky – they are thought to bring good luck, and are also said to scare away the evil spirits before the arrival of St. Nick.
Once you spend a few days here, it’s not hard to understand how Joseph Mohr[5], a native Salzburger who wrote the lyrics to “Silent Night[6],” came up with that atmospheric carol, which was first performed in nearby Oberndorf in 1818 (you can still visit the chapel where it debuted[7]).
Watch this short film by National Geographic photographer Bob Krist[8] to get a taste of Salzburg during the Advent season:
Advent in Salzburg[9] from Bob Krist[10] on Vimeo[11].
See more of Bob’s stunning work at bobkrist.com[12].
References
- ^ Salzburg site (www.salzburg.info)
- ^ National Geographic Travel – Austria guide (travel.nationalgeographic.com)
- ^ Wikipedia – Krampus (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ Visit Salzburg site – Perchten (www.visit-salzburg.net)
- ^ Stille Nacht site – Joseph Mohr (www.stillenacht.at)
- ^ Wikipedia – “Silent Night” (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ Visit Salzburg site – Silent Night Chapel (www.visit-salzburg.net)
- ^ National Geographic – Bob Krist (www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com)
- ^ Advent in Salzburg (vimeo.com)
- ^ Bob Krist (vimeo.com)
- ^ Vimeo (vimeo.com)
- ^ Bob Krist site (bobkrist.com)
