Salzburg Cathedral

In a city of dramatic vistas and astounding buildings, it takes a church of epic imagination to stand out amongst all the spectacle. Salzburg Cathedral (Salzburger Dom) manages that challenge with consummate ease—a cathedral scaled to fit in among Salzburg's rearing mountains and fortresses, while quietly outshining them with its bold Baroque design. Best-known for its superb 70-metre high copper-green dome, the Dom has always been at the heart of city's religious and social life.

It was here that Mozart was baptised. And here that he composed and played music on the Dom's ancient organ. It remains an important part of Salzburg's artistic life today, hosting music concerts, and serving as a backdrop for the famous medieval morality play, 'Jedermann'. It has also been through eight fiery baptisms of its own—flames that have wiped the slate clean for the cathedral on two occasions. And the current cathedral owes much to those cleansing flames.

Before the 16th century, Salzburg was known for having the largest sacred building in Europe: the Virgil Dom, built in the Romanesque style, allegedly 120 metres long and nearly 50 metres wide, making it much bigger than today's impressive Baroque Dom. But it was burned beyond repair in 1598. The ever-keen Prince Archbishop von Raitenau had the ruin pulled down and removed to make way for his grandiose plans. A little too keen and grand it seems—the townspeople got fed up with his destruction of ancient crypts and statues, and he was overthrown.

There are still fragments of the Virgil Dom to be seen in the Domgrabungs Museum, beneath the present cathedral, which reach back to the 8th century and beyond. Below these are still older foundations and mosaics from the ancient Roman city of Iuvavum.

Back inside the Salzburg Dom itself, all eyes are drawn to the light that filters down from its massive roof. The eight-sided dome has ochre-tinted frescoes, with scenes from the Old Testament glowing against the white marble walls. The sepia-and-white theme is carried on throughout the interior of the church, with pink marble columns picking out the organ, and also highlighting the glorious Mary Altar.

Awe-inspiring on the outside, ingeniously coordinated inside—no wonder the Salzburg Dom is considered a worthy showcase for the best of Salzburg.