Cultural Partners / Sound of Music
Virtual Tours
Watch for free, in the browser, without registration.
Welcome to Villa Trapp.
The Villa Trapp in Salzburg is the original Sound of Music Family Home.
"When God closes one door, he opens a window somewhere else." (Maria von Trapp)
Title photo by Kyle Arcilla on Unsplash
The original Sound of Music Family Home
This window is here. A piece of Austrian history took place in Villa Trapp. It went out into the world and found an audience there.
At Villa Trapp you can experience the unique feeling of another time and walk in the footsteps of the von Trapp family.
The Villa Trapp as a historic place where a global career began
From 1923 to 1938, Villa Trapp was the residence of the world-famous Trapp family. As such, it is a top-class tourist attraction.
The distinctive building was erected in 1863 by the renowned architect Valentin Ceconi from Friuli. The property is located not far from the historic center of the city of Salzburg, in a picturesque park in the villa district of Aigen.
The Trapp family's story behind „The Sound of Music“
If the story of the world-famous Trapp family teaches us anything, it is this insight: despite difficult life-changing events, they draw strength from unity and faith and never give up.
Georg von Trapp was a corvette captain and author. After the death of his first wife Agathe in 1922, he married Maria Kutschera in 1927. During the Great Depression, the family lost most of its wealth. Therefore, in 1936, the Trapps began performing publicly as a choir. After the „Anschluss“ in 1938, the family finally left Austria and settled in the United States.
The life of the von Trapps in the musical and in the film: "The Sound of Music".
With the book „The Story of the Trapp Family Singers“, Maria von Trapp herself laid the literary foundation for the later musicals and film adaptations. She declined initial offers from Hollywood. Instead, she handed over the film rights to Wolfgang Reinhardt, the son of director Max Reinhardt. After passing through several hands, the material ended up with director Wolfgang Liebeneiner and screenwriter Georg Hurdalek. Hurdalek introduced some essential ideas that Robert Wise later incorporated into „The Sound of Music“.
Sound of Music as a digital 3D tour
At Discover Culture, you can visit the Sound of Music World in Villa Trapp for free in the browser, in German or English. The exhibition focuses on important life stages of the Trapp family and the history of Hollywood film. It contrasts the film with reality. In addition, it tells the story of the villa, which was used by Himmler as a field command post. From the salon, the tour also leads to two filming locations: the Pavillon Hellbrunn and the Mondsee Basilica. Finally, it goes into the World War II bunkers.
