The Sound of Music still chimes in Salzburg, Austria

We stream away from the Leopoldskron Schloss on sit-up-and-beg bicycles singing My Favourite Things.

As we pedal beside the lake, lined up behind our guide Chloe Cunningham on a cycle tour of Sound of Music sites in Salzburg, we could easily be the von Trapp family joyously following their governess Fräulein Maria so famously played by Julie Andrews.

With a beatbox in her basket playing the tunes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, we’re a jolly band; a blend of diehard enthusiasts, who know every word, and keen first-timers.

We’d started near the famous steps of the Mirabell Gardens where Do-Re-Mi was filmed, risen to the heights of the Hohensalzburg Fortress and the abbey where Maria was a nun before sweeping out into the countryside beyond the “city of Salt” to pause at the gazebo in the park at Hellbrunn Palace where Rolf and Liesl sang “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.”

Solving a problem

Between the songs, Chloe sprinkles anecdotes such as how non-swimmer Gretl had to be rescued in the scene where the children’s boat capsized near the Leopoldskron Schloss, which was the rear of the family home during filming. Kym Karath, who played the youngest of the von Trapp children, later confirms that to be true.

“I might not be here if I hadn’t been rescued so quickly,” she tells me.

Each bike is named after characters and songs. Alongside Max and Friedrich, Liesl and Rolf, there’s Sixteen and Seventeen, and Do-Re-Mi. My steed was Edelweiss.

Joining Fräulein Maria’s Bicycle Tours is an exuberant introduction to the city and The Sound of Music.

But whether sightseeing by bus, on foot or bike, a common theme soon emerges: while guests the world over flock to Salzburg to experience The Sound of Music, the citizens of this beautiful Austrian city have remained stubbornly ambivalent to its relevance, either to the movie itself or the history of the real von Trapp family, perhaps shying away from a story set at a time when the Nazis took over the country.

Cameo appearance

Another tour leader and another quirky fact: this time delivered by Trudy Rollo on a walking tour as she reveals how Maria von Trapp made a discreet cameo appearance in the film when Julie Andrews sang I Have Confidence.

And then she continues: “It’s hard to believe, but many Austrians haven’t heard of The Sound of Music; they are more used to a 1956 film about the von Trapp family.”

Now, the city of Salzburg hopes to change this with the opening of a new museum portraying the fiction of the film and the true story of the von Trapp family.

Located at the Hellbrunn Palace south of Salzburg, and where the original gazebo now stands, museum visitors can also learn about the filming of The Sound of Music in Salzburg, its cinema premiere in 1965 and the five Oscars it won.

Extensive collection

There is a replica of the gazebo within the museum with costumes and scripts; Captain von Trapp’s naval whistle; and under the title “My Favourite Things,” the extensive collection of Dutch superfan Roger Pluijm, including posters, records and memorabilia.

The museum is designed as a focal point for fans from across the world, while also enabling Salzburgers to discover more about a film that has done so much to put their city on the international tourist trail – and that is saying something. Remember, Salzburg is also the city of Mozart.

A series of opening events saw creative stalwarts and politicians join four members of the original cast, who played the von Trapp children – Friedrich (Nicholas Hammond), Marta (Debbie Turner), Kurt (Duane Chase) and Gretl (Kym Karath) – and descendants of the von Trapps.

The fifth surviving cast member of the seven children, Brigitta (Angela Cartwright), sent a video message describing the film as “an extraordinary part” of her life and was delighted to see the establishment of The Sound of Music museum.

“It is so important that these memories now have a permanent home in Salzburg for generations to come.”

That sentiment was echoed in a letter, read out at the opening ceremony, from Julie Andrews.

“We never imagined what the film would become,” she stated. “It was such a happy time working on the film but what happened after the film finished was more than anything any of us could have imagined.”

Uplifting movie

International fans began visiting Salzburg to see the movie locations from 1966 onwards, initially from Europe, America and Australia but now increasingly from South-east Asia, China, Japan and India. Many see the film as an uplifting experience.

Stefan Herzl, founder and owner of Salzburg Panorama Tours, which initially transported the film crew around in 1964 before developing tours, reveals: “One Indian woman told me that whenever she feels bad, she watches The Sound of Music.”

Meanwhile, Duane reflects on how returning Vietnam War veterans told him the movie had helped them through the conflict.

“That meant I’d done my job,” says Duane, who left acting for a career as a geologist.

Nicholas Hammond further emphasised the importance of the museum.

“Everyone who goes there will love it. For us it is deeply emotional because it is such a connection with the past. But more importantly, it does what a good museum should do – not just be a collection of items, but tell a story.”

Behind the scenes

For his 14^th birthday, which fell during the filming, Nicholas’ mother bought him an 8mm cine-camera, and together they began ‘filming the filming’. “Actually,” he adds, “if she had not bought that camera, there would be no film record of behind-the-scenes shots of The Sound of Music.”

That footage has now been donated to the new museum along with his original script.

As an actor with a long career behind him (he was the original TV Spiderman and starred in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), he retains enormous affection for Salzburg.

“All of us in the film, from Julie on down, feel that this place was part of a significant change in our lives going forward. Overnight, we became the most famous children in the world.

“Today, we remain good friends with the real von Trapp family and I love the way the museum has blended our stories.”

Golden days

The film’s opening credits suggest it is “set in the last golden days of the 30s”, but the real story began a decade earlier. Captain Georg Rutter von Trapp (played by Christopher Plummer) was a submarine commander in the Austro-Hungarian navy, hence the order in the film that he join the German navy ahead of World War II.

Widowed in 1922 when his first wife Agathe Whitehead died, he hired Maria as governess to their seven children. They subsequently married in 1927, eventually fleeing Austria with their family in 1938 and later settling in Stowe, Vermont, where they farmed in the summer, performed as a the Von Trapp Family Singers throughout the winter, and also established a holiday resort.

Of the further three children they had together, Johannes, now 87, is the only survivor but numerous von Trapp descendants travelled to Salzburg for the museum opening.

Among them was his daughter Kristina, who adds: “They settled on a beautiful hillside in Vermont because they were looking for something to replicate Austria.”

Around Salzburg lie several other locations from the film: the opening scenes feature shots from St Gilgen, where there is a Von Trapp Family Mini Museum on the Zwölferhorn mountain peak overlooking Wolfgangsee; and the place where Maria runs across lush meadow before bursting into “the hills are alive” is 40 minutes from Salzburg at Werfen.

Full circle

Peter Husty, who co-curated the museum with Matthias Bergsmann, spoke about the challenges in creating the museum, particularly rights and permission to use material and footage.

Recognising how the surviving actors will be “ambassadors for the museum,” head curator Peter also noted the “changing opinion of the inhabitants of Salzburg to the film.”

“Now, they know about The Sound of Music, but 10 years ago it was quite different.”

Kym said: “It feels like things have gone full circle; the museum brings a freshness to the story.”

That is serendipitously true, particularly for Debbie Turner.

Now a wedding designer and still regarding Salzburg as one of her favourite places, she reflects: “I was seven when I played Marta but recently my granddaughter, also seven, played Marta in a production of The Sound of Music.”

There is so much to see in Salzburg for The Sound of Music fans, from film locations and performances to themed tours and the stunning sights of the city. And now, the new museum is taking that onto a whole new level.

But be warned. Every tour ends in song…“So Long, farewell, it’s time to say goodbye.”

FACTBOX:

Getting there: Regular flights from UK airports to Salzburg with a 20-minute transfer to the city centre.

Accommodation: Mark Nicholls stayed at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in the centre of Salzburg. With 168 rooms including 27 suites, plus the Mirabell Restaurant and Taste It Italian restaurant, it has a gym, yoga room and sauna and steam room. Room rates start from €250.

The Sound of Music Museum: Open until November 1 and then re-opening from Spring 2027. Admission is €8, visit www.soundofmusicsalzburg.at

Fräulein Maria’s Bicycle Tours: Running from April until October (€50). Visit www.mariasbicycletours.com

For more information: www.salzburgmuseum.at and www.salzburgerland.com

Salzburg Card: Offers free admission to sights, plus discounts on events, concerts and activities. For more information, see www.salzburg.info