The great brass cylinder with its 7,970 holes can play more than a hundred different music pieces. Sixteen compositions are from the time before 1799. Formerly, these were attributed to Johann Michael Haydn. The pieces by Mozart, father and son, are arrangements from the nineteenth century. Many well-known melodies are included in the repertoire: ‘Das klinget so herrlich’ from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, also ‘Là ci darem la mano’ from Don Giovanni; folk songs such as ‘In einem kühlen Grunde’, ‘Komm lieber Mai und mache’, ‘Ännchen von Tharau’, ‘Loreley’, the ‘Planing Song’ from Ferdinand Raimund’s The Spendthrift, a minuet by Leopold Mozart, and the famous Salzburg carol ‘Silent Night’. Not only these, but also lovely pieces from more recent times have been played, such as ‘Récit évangélique’ by Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992).

The mechanical movement is installed in the two storeys underneath the carillon and operated today by an electric motor. But it is also possible to work it mechanically, whereby a manual crank is turned to pull up a wooden basket with weights suspended on a long cord, using gravity to enable operation.

Guided tours of the carillon tower take place from the end of March to the end of October every Thursday at 4.30pm.