In the city of Salzburg, north-central Austria

 "The hills are alive with the sound of music" is a line from a song and the title of a musical that sings the praises of raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. The musical is based on the real-life experiences of a would-be nun who becomes the governess to a large family in Austria. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1959 and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 1965.

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(in north-central Austria) The city of Salzburg, literally "Salt-Castle," is the capital of the Salzburg Bundesland (federal state); it is found in a level basin on both sides of the Salzach River near the northern foothills of the Alps and the Bavarian (German) border. Now the fourth-largest city in Austria, Salzburg was originally the site of a Celtic settlement and later of the Roman town of Juvavum. Around 700 CE, the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and the Nonnberg Nunnery were founded there by Saint Rupert. Salzburg was made a bishopric by Staint Boniface in 739 and was elevated to an archbishopric in 798. (Its archbishops were acknowledged as princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1278, and the city became the seat of their powerful ecclesiastical principality.) Its main sources of income at the time were salt extraction, trade, and gold mining. The imposing fortress of Hohensalzburg, one of the largest medieval fortresses in Europe, dates from the 11th century. In the 17th century, Salzburg became a center of the Counter-Reformation, while building monasteries and many Baroque churches.

+ Today, Salzburg's historic center (or "Altstadt") is renowned for its Baroque architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. The Altstadt was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The city has three universities and a large population of students. (Tourists also visit Salzburg to explore its historic center and the scenic Alpine surroundings.)

The unique combination of scenic Alpine landscape and architectural richness has led to Salzburg’s reputation as one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Its chief glories are the episcopal buildings and the burghers’ houses, displaying an Italian Renaissance and Baroque influence that earned Salzburg the designation of the “German Rome.”

+ In the center of the “older town,” on the left bank of the Salzach, is the Residenzplatz with the archbishop’s residence, a gallery of 16th–19th century European paintings, and a large Baroque fountain. Opposite is the Residenz Neugebäude (Residence New Building; its tower contains clockwork and carillon (or "Glockenspiel") that was imported from Antwerp, Belgium. The 35 bells that make up the carillon play many pieces specially composed by Michael Haydn and by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Salzburg’s most famous native son. The cathedral, or Dom, was the first church built in the Italian style on German soil. It was constructed on the site of a previous Romanesque cathedral that was damaged by fire in 1598, and an earlier, 8th-century basilica.