Salzburg Cathedral, Austria - Architecture,Church

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The southern side of Salzburg's Residenzplatz is subjugated by the Cathedral, erected of dark gray conglomerate from the Mönchsberg; the twin towers, 259feet high, dates back to 1652-57. This was the first intentionally Italian style church to be constructed north of the Alps. The west front, facing the Domplatz, has four huge statues of light colored marble, the outer ones representing St Rupert and Virgil, patron saints of the province, the inner ones Peter and Paul. The first cathedral, constructed by Abbot and Bishop Virgil in 767-74, was replaced at the end of the 12th C. by a five-aisled cathedral. The Cathedral can accommodate parishioners of more than 10,000. In the first side chapel on the left stands the font, borne on 12th C. figures of lions, from the Romanesque cathedral, and in which Mozart was baptized.