The main attraction of the Orangery Salzburg is the famous Salzburg Panorama by Johann Michael Sattler. This historic circular painting was created in the 1820s and offers a fascinating depiction of what Salzburg and its surroundings looked like at that time. At a single glance, the panorama conveys both the essence and the reasons behind Salzburg’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site — among them its status as a unique, authentic, and exceptionally well-preserved example of a European ecclesiastical city-state, as well as its outstanding collection of high-quality architecture spanning from the Late Middle Ages to the 20th century. With the new presentation of the circular painting in the Orangery Salzburg, the panorama can now be experienced barrier-free for the first time.

A panorama as far as the eye can see: Johann Michael Sattler depicts the city of Salzburg and its surroundings in the panoramic painting created between 1825 and 1829. He chose a sunny autumn afternoon at 4 o’clock, as all the tower clocks and sundials show. The view still seems familiar to us today, but on closer inspection, quite a lot has changed.

The picture is striking for its topographical precision, above all in the built-up areas of the city. All the window axes, chimneys, and roof forms of the buildings exactly match reality. On closer inspection, one can also discover a multitude of people from all walks of life and professions, engaged in all kinds of activities. Only the landscape above the doorway is fictional; Sattler invented it because otherwise part of the city (in the Nonntal area) would have been missing in the area of the door (which was later enlarged slightly).