Pferdeschwemme

The Hofmarstallschwemme stands beside the Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz in Salzburg’s left-bank old town. Built as a horse-washing pool for the prince-archbishop’s stables, it is now a protected monument. The site once formed part of the grand Residenz complex remodelled under Fürsterzbischof Johann Ernst Thun-Hohenstein in the late 17th century.

Its centrepiece is a bronze group of a rearing horse and its handler, added in 1695 when Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach redesigned the court stables. The sculptor was Bernhard Michael Mandl, whose workshop supplied many works for Fischer’s Salzburg projects. The statue originally faced the stables, but in 1732 Fürsterzbischof Graf Leopold Anton Firmian turned it toward the city and placed his own coat of arms on the new pedestal.

Behind the pool rises a tall wall adorned with frescoes by Franz Anton Ebner. These panels have been repainted several times, most recently in 1960. The surrounding square preserves traces of the old Neutor gate removed in 1860 to ease traffic. Visitors today see a quiet corner where baroque art and civic history meet.