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For the worldly, Italian-educated Marcus Sitticus, Hellbrunn was a summer retreat where he could relax, enjoy the good things in life and entertain his guests. Foremost among the entertainments devised by the pleasure-loving prelate, the Wasserspiele (guided tours in English and German, April & Oct 9am-4.30pm; May, June & Sept 9am-5pm; July & Aug 9am-10pm; oS80/?5.81) is a themed pocket of the Schloss gardens featuring shell-encrusted grottoes, water-powered clockwork figures, and trick fountains that spurt unexpectedly into life - visitors should come prepared for a soaking. During the tour you'll pass the Stone Theatre, an outdoor stage built in order to satisfy Marcus Sitticus's love of opera and drama. Austrian Emperor Ferdinand II was treated to an operatic performance here during an official visit to Salzburg in 1619, five years after Marcus had staged the first ever opera in the city - Monteverdi's Orfeo , in the Residenz. The Schloss itself (same times; obligatory 20min guided tours depart at regular intervals, in German but English translations on request; oS40/?2.91) is filled with reminders of Marcus Sitticus's passion for animals, both those he hunted and those he collected to stock his park: names of some rooms, like the Fish room , hint at the decor within. Disturbing to modern eyes, but relatively commonplace to the educated elite of Sitticus's time, are the paintings of the freaks of nature that once filled the archbishop's bizarre private zoo, notably various albino farm animals and an eight-legged horse. More refined tastes are revealed in the Chinese room , with hand-painted wallpaper depicting birds and cherry blossom, and in the Octagon room , where the archbishop's favoured musicians were invited to perform. The latter chamber features a series of wall paintings by Arsenio Mascagni in which the archbishop himself is portrayed in civilian clothes (a deliberate hint that he wished to be treated as a secular prince rather than Church leader when in the comfort of his own summer palace), together with his mistress, Katharine von Mabon. Despite issuing decrees against rowdy festivities and the keeping of brothels, Marcus Sitticus wore his own vow of celibacy rather lightly, conducting a well-known affair with officer's wife Frau von Mabon (for whom he constructed a country house on Hellbrunner Allee) as well as with her sister. Behind the Schloss stretches an extensive park (dawn till dusk), with tree-lined avenues, ornamental flowerbeds and well-stocked fish ponds.
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