Hotel Goldener Hirsch

The Hotel Goldener Hirsch stands in Salzburg’s old town on Getreidegasse, a narrow street lined with medieval buildings. It occupies three adjoining houses, including a former goldsmith’s shop at number 46 and the adjacent Stockhamerbräu brewery at number 35. The hotel forms part of the UNESCO-listed Altstadt Salzburg, a protected historic district. Its location places it within a few steps of the Festival Hall and Herbert-von-Karajan-Square. The building’s exterior shows the worn plaster and wrought-iron signs typical of centuries-old Salzburg townhouses. The hotel’s history reaches back to 1407, when records from Nonnberg Abbey first mention the house. Over the centuries it passed through the hands of silversmiths, blacksmiths, and innkeepers, becoming a tavern called Wirtshaus zum Goldener Hirschen by 1671. In the 19th century it gained a permanent licence and later became a favoured lodging during the Salzburg Festival. After wartime damage, Countess Harriet von Walderdorff transformed it in 1947 into a modern yet cosy hotel that set a style for western Austria. Since 1976 it has belonged to Imperial Hotels Austria AG and draws on the Starwood network. Inside, the hotel offers 70 rooms and suites arranged around a glass-roofed patio that serves as a lounge. The main restaurant opens onto Herbert-von-Karajan-Square, while s’Herzl occupies the old goldsmith’s shop and serves local dishes in a 15th-century inn setting. The building’s thick walls, antique furniture, and patchwork carpets reflect the countess’s vision of simple elegance. Many world-famous guests have stayed here, drawn by its quiet luxury in the heart of Salzburg’s festival district.