Those unfamiliar with the Paris Lodron University may be surprised to learn that it isn’t located in the French capital but in Salzburg, Austria. Indeed, the institution is named after its founder Paris Lodron, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg and its full name, Paris Lodron-Universität Salzburg, leads to the satisfying abbreviation PLUS. Today, it occupies a variety of locations in the historic city centre, as well as the more recent Nonntal and Freisaal campuses. Its library services are similarly spread across multiple locations.
Several faculties occupy parts of the former palace of the prince-archbishops known as the Alte Residenz, or Old Residence. Construction of the Residenz began in 1595 under the patronage of Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, a visionary leader who sought to transform Salzburg into a cultural and intellectual hub. Inspired by the political and stylistic ideals of the Italian Renaissance, Wolf Dietrich had the Residenz built in a style consistent with contemporary Italian architecture. The design is primarily attributed to architect Vincenzo Scamozzi, a student of Palladio. The building was intended not only as a residence for the prince-archbishops but also as a symbol of their power and influence.
The peculiarities of the prince-archbishops’ rule placed both secular and ecclesiastical responsibilities on the head of state. The bishopric role was therefore more a question of politics than religious fervor, and many blind eyes were turned to the requirement of celibacy it technically implied. Wolf Dietrich thus never hid his relationship with Salome Alt, with whom he maintained a lifelong intellectual and romantic connection. In 1605, he extended the Residenz with the Dietrichsruh, a set of apartments intended for Salome and connected to his own residence via a secret passage. Closing off the Dietrichsruh was a new wing, later known as the Toskanatrakt, which Wolf Dietrich designed as his private quarters, while the Alte Residenz remained mainly active as representation rooms.
Usage of the Residenz shifted over time. In the 18th century, part of the so-called Hofbogengebäude were converted into apartments for the count of Wallis and his family, after whom this part of the complex is now named.
In 1801, following the annexation of Salzburg by the Kingdom of Bavaria, the university was dissolved. Following the Napoleonic Wars, the region was incorporated to the Austrian Empire and the Wallistrakt was adapted to serve as apartments for visiting emperor Franz Joseph. In 1962, the university was re-established and started taking over parts of the Residenz, starting with the Wallistrakt, which today is occupied by the faculty of philosophy.
As it developed, the university took over more of the former prince-archbishop residence complex. In 1986, work started for the expansion of the law faculty into the Toskanatrakt. During the renovation, a room decorated with map frescoes was rediscovered hidden behind the 18th century decor likely installed for its then owner, Ferdinand III von Toskana, after which this section of the complex is named. The maps are excerpts from Abraham Ortelius’ 1570 atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum and accurately describe the world as it was known around the time of Wolf Dietrich. Today, this room serves as the main reading room for the law library.
Following the law faculty’s move to the Toskanatrakt in 1990, its former location in the Alte Residenz was allocated to the institutes of archaeology and ancient history. This included Wolf Dietrich’s treasure room, the Silberkammer, which is now the archaeology library.
Protected by heavy iron doors, the Silberkammer held the prince-archbishop’s most precious artifacts, which besides gold and silver trinkets likely included rare wines, spices and other fine foodstuffs, as hinted by ventilation grills built in its storage cabinets. The latter have largely been preserved: when the room was converted to a library, the cabinet doors were simply removed and bookshelves were built in their place. The existence of the doors slowly faded from collective memory until they were saved in extremis from an enterprising clean-up effort by an attentive professor. They are are now duly inventoried, and some are displayed inside the library.
The anteroom to the treasure room turned library connects both to the former prince-archbishop apartments and the public representation rooms. This space now serves as the entrance to the library, and includes an 18th century walnut wardrobe, which was converted to hide lockers for users.
The images on this page date from my visit in September 2022. I’m very grateful to the university library communications department for facilitating my visit, and in particular to Alois Doppler, Archaeology librarian, for opening the door of his literal treasure room and leading me on a bespoke tour of the Residenz libraries. Vielen herzlichen Dank!
This post is part of a series on adaptive reuse in libraries. See the list of such projects I am maintaining or view other posts in this series.
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