Posted by The Story of Silent Night
We timed our visit to Salzburg to the days leading up to Christmas – the Advent. That was mainly because we wanted to be part of the city as it prepares for and celebrates the 200th year anniversary of the most beloved Christmas carol, ‘Silent Night‘. It is also our family’s favourite carol.
‘Stille Nacht’ (original German title) was written by a young priest from Salzburg named Josef Mohr (1792-1848). He wrote the poem in 1816 when he was an assistant priest in Mariapfarr, a town 135 kilometres south of Salzburg. Mohr, who was also a choir singer and a guitar player, eventually moved to Oberndorf, a small town north of Salzburg. There he became friends with Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863), the church organist at Oberndorf and a teacher in Arnsdorf, a nearby town.
On the afternoon of December 24, Christmas Eve of 1818, Mohr approached Gruber to compose a melody for his poem. He wanted to offer to the people of Oberndorf a carol that would be sung after the Christmas mass that evening. Gruber was a genius and completed the melody quickly. And so 200 years ago, on December 24, 1818, Stille Nacht was first performed, sang by these two friends and accompanied by Mohr on his guitar…
In my next post, I will share our wonderful experience at Oberndorf and try my best to tell more stories behind Silent Night – stories of hope and peace…
Meanwhile, here are some of the pictures at the Silent Night 200 exhibit in Salzburg Museum. Our Silent Night ‘pilgrimage’ began here. We spent the rest of the morning at the exhibit after visiting Salzburg Cathedral next door. In the museum shop, we bought a couple of souvenirs including a wind-up music box of Silent Night that my husband was so fond of. 🙂
Here are the other posts from our Bavaria and Austria Christmas holiday
- Munich: Start of our family’s tales from last winter
- Munich: Viktualienmarkt Biergarten
- Munich: BMW Museum and BMW Welt
- Munich: Theatine Church and Odeonplatz
- Munich: Christmas Markets
- Munich: Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall
- Munich: City Aparthotel München
- Salzburg: Birthplace of Mozart and Silent Night
- Salzburg: Hohensalzburg Fortress
- Salzburg: Residenzplatz Christmas Market
- Salzburg: Salzburg Cathedral
- Salzburg: Silent Night 200 at Salzburg Museum
- Salzburg: Silent Night Tour by Bob’s Special Tour
- Salzburg: Silent Night at Oberndorf and Laufen
- Salzkammergut: Road Trip to Hallstatt
- Salzkammergut: Christmas Market at St Wolfgang
- Salzburg: Krampus Run at Hellbrunn Palace
- Salzburg: Imlauer Hotel Pitter Salzburg
- Obergurgl: A Week in the Austrian Alps
- Obergurgl: Chalet Obergurgl Luxury Apartments
- Obergurgl: Hohe Mut Alm Mountain Restaurant
- Obergurgl: Snowstorm on Christmas Eve
- Obergurgl: Day After the Storm
- Obergurgl: Snowshoeing
- Hochgurgl: Tobogganing
- Hochgurgl: Hochgurgl Cable Car Ride
- Vienna: First Impressions
- Vienna: Hofburgkapelle and Imperial Armoury
- Vienna: Schönbrunn Palace
- Vienna: Imperial Treasury and Hofburg
- Vienna: Prater
- Vienna: New Year’s Eve Fireworks and Waltz
- Vienna: Hilton Vienna Plaza
- Stuttgart: The Mercedes-Benz Museum
- Stuttgart: The Porsche Museum
We Travel Happy 
I’m looking forward to seeing your post on Oberndorf! Being in a place where “Stille Nacht” was performed live for the first time was a thrill, but being there during Christmas has to be special, and to be there on *Christmas Eve* has to be extra special. Neverthless, being in Salzburg and in the area for Christmas had to feel like a bit of magic, especially with snow on the ground, lights all around, and a chill in the air.
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Magical no less, no exageration. But hey I found all our Silent Night inspiration from your blog. I owe you! 🙂
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Nah, it’s all good: I got inspiration from a bunch of other sources, too. 😊🎄
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That must have been so special and memorable to attend that!
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Yes it was, thank you 🙂
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We were just talking about Salzburg as a possible Christmas destination. Not this year but some other. Waiting to catch up on your other Salzburg posts, Amor. Hope you have been well. xx
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Hello there my favourite writer, yes do consider Salzburg. It’s probably not as glittery as your Paris last year, definitely not like our Disney California Christmas a few years back, but I loved our time in Salzburg a lot. It’s simple there, humbling, solemn and Christmassy in an old fashion, my-kind of way. After a quiet Advent in Salzburg, we headed to Vienna for a loud, NYE party! 🙂
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That is such a heartwarming thing to hear.
You know anything old-fashioned and I am sold. Paris does have polish, you are right. I will miss it this winter. Disney California sounds like a hoot of a Christmas. The beauty of travelling is going to places with different vibes, or it would be a big bore, no?
A Salzburg Advent and then an afterparty in Vienna. Heaven! I will take it in a heartbeat.:-)
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I agree with you and I do felt privileged that I got to see how Christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world. Do you know where I hope to see Christmas one day? In England. I heard it’s lovely at Hyde Park as well. Do you happen to have an old post about Christmas in England? I’d love to read it. 🙂
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Hey Amor, I apologise for the slowest of all responses. I have been working on my writing project and as a result blogging is getting ignored. Well, a thousand apologies apart, I do not think I have done a post on Christmas itself in the UK. I wonder why because those were some of my most cherished times. I will see if I can do one!
And if you do go, you will love it (but be warned, it is not OTT). 🙂
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It’s nice to hear that you’re working on a project! I had to look up for ‘OTT’ hahaha! I knew I heard my kid saying that word before and I also asked him what it meant but I kinda forgotten already. Oh your Christmas posts are always something to look forward too. I remember I loved your NY Christmas posts from 2 years back, and if I remember it right, you have one in Eastern Europe as well?
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Hahaha, I suck at acronyms. Just a few stick. 😉
Yes, I do have one on Budapest, Florence, a bit in Rome, Prague and unwritten ones in my head from France and the UK. Christmas is such a warm feeling. I am already excited about it. Or is it too early? 😛
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Nope not too early for you and not too late for my posts 🙂
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First time hearing about Silent Night. It seems you guys had awesome time exploring museum along with Christmas fun
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Yeah it was a ‘Silent Night’-filled day and the best part was tour we did after visiting the museum. I hope to be able to write about it soon. 🙂
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Such a simple yet beautiful carol. I think it sounds even better in German than English. I’ve also heard a Scots Gaelic version that’s very haunting.
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It does sound so solemn and authentic in German! I got to listen to it twice that day. I could only find Irish Gaelic versions (is that the same as Scot Gaelic?) in YouTube and wow thank you so very much for mentioning about this. I will surely put this now in our Christmas playlist! 🙂
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I can’t find the version I heard but try googling Karen Matheson. She’s done a more recent scots gaelic version with Eddie Reader.
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I found both. Chilling! I liked it! Thank you!
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