Hellbrunn’s trick fountains, explained
Going without a car?The boat trip includes the palace ticket, the Salzburg Card covers admission and the bus, and every option cancels free up to 24 hours before. Reserve the date now, decide later.
Check availabilityThe prince’s table
The first station is the Roman theatre, and in front of it stands a stone dining table with stone seats. The archbishop dined here with his guests in summer. At a signal, water sprays up through the seats and soaks everyone at the table; the host’s seat, and only the host’s, stays dry. That is the joke the whole garden is built on, and it still lands four centuries later, because the water comes without warning. Reviewer Jürgen (Germany), who came on the boat trip: “At the water features in Hellbrunn Palace, you were sure to get wet at every stop. Surprises were guaranteed.” Who Markus Sittikus was, and why he built this.
The grottoes and the crown
Behind the table the path leads through a run of grottoes: figures of Greek gods and mythical creatures, optical illusions, and five small grottoes with water-driven figures that move when the water is let in. Jets are hidden in the paths and in the seats, so a bench that looks like a place to rest is usually not. One station is a crown that a single jet lifts into the air, holds, and drops. Between the grottoes come the fountains proper; the largest is the Altemps fountain with its star pond, fed by a natural spring, which is why the whole system still runs.
The mechanical theatre of 1750
The mechanical theatre was added in 1750, well after the archbishop’s time: 163 water-driven figures showing the life of a Baroque town, all still turning on water. Other sources print other counts; 163 is the palace’s own figure, so it is the one used here. It is the station most visitors remember.
The audio-guide walk
The fountains used to be a guided tour on a fixed schedule. They are not any more. At the entrance you scan a QR code, download the tracks to your own phone (they work offline once loaded) and walk at your own pace; the palace keeps traditional audio devices for anyone without a phone. The tracks come in fifteen languages: German, English, Italian, Spanish, French, Dutch, Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. The fountains take about 50 minutes this way and the palace exhibition about 30, and there is a children’s version of each at about 30 minutes. Private guided group tours can be booked from the palace separately. How long the whole visit takes.
Getting wet
The palace’s own answer to the question is: “Only if you wish to. Otherwise you will just catch a few drops. Please protect your electronic devices.” That is fair. The jets are aimed at the paths and the seats, and children who want to be soaked get soaked, and adults who hang back get damp. Photography is allowed and welcome, so the practical advice is a light layer and something to cover a phone. The wetting, in more detail.
The fountains run in any weather and are busiest from late morning in summer. Opening time at 09:30 and the last ninety minutes before closing are the quiet hours; the best time to visit has the month-by-month version.
The ticket, and who includes it
The fountains, the palace exhibition and the folk museum in the Monatsschlössl are one ticket, about sixteen and a half euros for an adult, sold at the entrance. Two products on this site have it in the price: the boat trip down the Salzach, which adds a ride on a 1963 double-decker bus and priority entry to the fountains, and the Salzburg Card, which covers the admission and bus 25. Tickets, categories and what each product adds.
Four hundred years on, the host’s chair is still the only dry seat at the table.
Book the boat trip with the fountains included
About 30 minutes on the Salzach from the old-town dock, ten on the double-decker bus, then priority entry to the trick fountains and the palace with the audio guide. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Frequently asked questions
What are the trick fountains at Hellbrunn?
Mannerist water gardens laid out for Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus from 1613: a stone dining table whose seats spray the guests, grottoes with hidden jets and moving figures, a water-lifted crown, the Altemps fountain with its star pond, and a mechanical theatre of 163 figures added in 1750. The archbishop and his architect.
Do you get wet at the Hellbrunn trick fountains?
At least a few drops, in the palace’s own words, and as wet as you like if you stand where the jets are aimed. Cover your phone. Will you get wet, in full.
How long do the trick fountains take?
About 50 minutes with the mobile audio guide, walked at your own pace; the palace exhibition adds about 30 minutes on the same ticket. How long the visit takes.
Is the trick-fountain ticket included in any tour?
Yes: the boat-and-bus trip from the old town includes admission and priority entry to the fountains, and the Salzburg Card covers one entry plus bus 25. The Sound of Music tours stop at the gazebo in the free park only. Which product includes what.