The Trapp family Salzburg - the real story

Our research as travel bloggers about the von Trapp family in Salzburg took us to various places. In the USA we visited the Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont. There we learned a lot about the family's life after their escape from Austria.

In Salzburg we explored the family's surroundings and visited their former home in Aigen. This house tells a different story than the famous film, but the atmosphere is impressive. We could easily imagine how the family lived there.

A highlight of our research was a international press conference at Leopoldskron Palace for the 50th anniversary of "The Sound of Music". Here we met experts and descendants who gave interesting insights into the true story of the Trapps.

 

 

The True Story of the Trapp Family

If you've been reading our blog for a while, then maybe you remember ours Visit the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont a few years ago. Curiosity has been gnawing at us since then. The story of the Trapp family that started in 1938 before the National Socialists Austria fled to the USA, had made us curious and we couldn't stop thinking about it. Above all, we wanted to find out the truth about the Trapp family's escape from the Nazis, not the Hollywood version of the film "The Sound of Music", which made the family world famous.

The film depiction does not quite correspond to the truth. Therefore, last weekend we went to visit the Salzburg countrywho brought us a good deal closer to the actual fate of this remarkable family. The opportunity was good, because in the evening “The Sound of Music” was performed in German in the Salzburg State Theater.

 

 

Visiting the von Trapp family home

The great thing about this weekend in Salzburg and surroundings was that we could live in the former home of the Trapp family, the Villa Trapp. The villa is closed to the public. We slept in the room of Maria, the third eldest daughter of Baron Georg von Trapp.

When I asked Christoph Unterkofler, our host, whether Maria actually slept here before she left for the States, he laughs and says: “Maria was a guest in the house and answered exactly this question. She said, 'We were a family. One of them slept in this room and a few years later in that one. It's not that easy to assign the rooms in this house.'” The room names should be seen more as a reference to the Trapp family than as actual historical facts.

 

 

The Trapp family in Salzburg - their true story

Nevertheless, we have the feeling of getting closer to the Trapp family in this villa, as there are numerous memorabilia that belonged to Georg von Trapp and his children. In a display case in the salon, for example, we find a ship's bell that comes from his submarine, which he commanded in the service of the Austrian Navy during the time of the Imperial and Royal Family during the First World War.

In the entrance hall there are two magnificently carved Chinese wooden benches that the Trapp family brought back from one of their concert tours. In the rooms and in the 150-year-old staircase there are photos of the children and the family, and in the breakfast room there is an old piano that reminds us of the times when the Trapp Family Singers started their international career as a singing family. This began after Georg von Trapp married the nanny of the seven children he had with his first wife.

From Music to Escape: The True Background

Maria Kutschera

Maria Kutschera came to 1925 as a house teacher in the house of the Trapp family. She previously worked as a teacher at Nonnberg Monastery in Salzburg and was about to become a nun herself. Her plans changed when she married 1927 the 25 years older Georg von Trapp. Maria was very musical, and her stepchildren had made music together with her father before arriving in the family. Georg von Trapp was - in contrast to the military acting father of the musical - a loving father.

He reportedly loved to have his children around him. The pipe with which he commands his gang of rascals around in "The Sound of Music" actually exists, and we find it among the memorabilia of the family. His daughter Maria reports: “My father only used the pipe to call us from the extensive park when he was looking for us. Each of us had a personal signal. When father whistled for us, we always knew who he was looking for. "

The Trapp family welcomed famous guests

Since Georg von Trapp had to give up his job after the end of the First World War because Austria lost its access to the sea at the end of the war, the Trapp family had to cut back financially. They moved into the upper floor of the villa and rented out the rooms on the two lower floors to paying guests.

One of them was the well-known actress Lotte Lehmann, who heard the family singing during her visit. It was also she who recommended that they take part in a folk music competition during the Salzburg Festival. (The "Uncle Max" as he appears in the musical "The Sound of Music" did not exist. Nor did Elsa Schrader, the lover in the musical.) The Trapp family won the singing competition. Radio appearances and concerts in Austria and other European countries followed.

Escape from the Nazis: How the Trapp family really escaped

After Salzburg's annexation to Germany, the National Socialists offered Georg von Trapp a position in the German Navy. As a staunch monarchist, he refused to accept the offer. Instead, the Trapp family prepared to emigrate.

She had an invitation to go on a concert tour through the USA, and so they fled by train from Aigen station - not on foot over the mountains like in the film - first to Italy and from there on to the USA, where they performed their concerts on a temporary artist visa.

Maria gave birth to her youngest son, Johannes, in the USA. After another concert tour through Sweden, they were able to immigrate to the USA without any problems, as Johannes already had American citizenship by birth.

When the family left Austria, not only were the seven children from Georg's first marriage with them, but also two of the three children he had with Maria. Maria was even pregnant with their third child. They had escaped from the Nazis just in time.

The Trapp Family in the USA: A New Life in Vermont

The Trapp family started a new life in the USA after fleeing the Nazis. In Vermont they founded the Trapp Family Lodge, which still exists today. Here they continued their musical legacy and built a new home.

The lodge reflects the connection between their Austrian roots and the American landscape. In Vermont they found not only a new home but also a way to continue telling their story. The family became firmly anchored in their new community and remains an important part of the local culture.

 

 

The myth of The Sound of Music and reality

We use our stay in Salzburg to explore the locations of the film version of "The Sound of Music". Here, too, we come across contradictions that distort the true story of the Trapp family. For example, Hollywood director Robert Wise does not use the real Villa Trapp as the film set for the Trapp family's home.

This was apparently not pompous enough for him. Instead, he chose two castles in the Salzburg area as filming locations: the back of Castle Leopoldskron with its lake serves as the back of the “Trapp Villa” in the film, and the front of Frohnburg Castle outside Salzburg becomes the front of the Trapp Villa in Hollywood.

• The castle is exclusively for hotel guests and seminar and event participants and is not open to the public.
• There are also public tours for non-hotel guests. However, you must register for these. You can find information about it here.

It comes to strange scenes, you know the actual location of the shooting. While the father calls his children into the house with the façade of Schloss Leopoldskron and the lake behind them, the children romp in the park of Frohnburg Castle. What in reality involves a distance of several kilometers, appears in the film as a short walk of a few minutes.

 

 

The dance scene

The dance scene to the song "I am 16, going on 17" was filmed in front of a gazebo on the lakefront in Leopoldskron. This glass pavilion has been in the Hellbrunn Palace ParkIn the film, the pavilion looks much bigger than in reality. This also has something to do with Hollywood, as the outdoor scenes were filmed at Lake Leopoldskron, but the actual dance scene was filmed in a much larger replica gazebo in Hollywood Studios.

It's similar with Maria's journey from the Nonnberg monastery. In the film, her journey from there to the Villa Trapp takes just a few minutes. In reality, there are 25 kilometers between the Trapp Villa and the monastery. In the film, Georg and Maria get married in the basilica in Mondsee. Their real wedding took place in the Nonnberg monastery. Our tour following in Hollywood's footsteps is exciting.

 

 

Tourist highlights: Experience the Trapp family and “The Sound of Music”

We are on the way with one of the organized bus tours in the footsteps of "The Sound of Music", on which we learn these interesting details. What surprises me the most on this four-hour tour of Salzburg, the Salzburg suburbs and the Salzburg region past Fuschlsee, Wolfgangsee to Mondsee is the fact that we share the bus with mostly young people from all over the world. However, we are looking in vain for other German-speaking guests.

The musical and its film adaptation with Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as Baron, which is hardly known in Austria and Germany, is a hit all over the world. To date, "The Sound of Music" is the most viewed musical in the world with more than 2 billion viewers. We are traveling with young Australians, British, Asians and a few Canadians. And everyone connects "The Sound of Music" with the Christmas season, when it is part of their family customs to watch the musical.

 

 

A day in the footsteps of the Trapp Family

Our day in the footsteps of the Trapp family is an extremely exciting day full of complex interrelationships between the truth, the story, the filming in Salzburg and Hollywood and the actors who are still involved in the history of the Trapp family today. We were offered a very lively insight into the history of Europe and Salzburg's in the last 100 years.

 

 

What is the Trapp family doing today?

Today, the Trapp family lives mostly in the USA. After fleeing Austria, the family settled in Stowe, Vermont. There they founded the Trapp Family Lodge, which is still run by the descendants today. It offers guests a mixture of alpine hospitality and New England charm.

The property includes 96 guest rooms and numerous outdoor activities. Hiking and cross-country skiing in winter are among the most popular. The lodge is reminiscent of the family's Austrian roots and is a popular destination for nature lovers.

 

 

The Trapp musical tradition has not been lost. Some descendants, such as Elisabeth von Trapp, continue to perform and keep the family legacy alive. She tours regularly and maintains the musical legacy. Some family members even continue to sing in an a cappella group.

In addition to music, some members of the family are involved in charitable projects. They are committed to environmental protection and education, especially in Vermont. The Trapp family has put down strong roots in their new home and maintains the memory of their past through their cultural contributions and the legacy of the lodge.

 

 

Conclusion: Myths and facts about the Trapp family

The history of the Trapp family is heavily influenced by myths. Hollywood simplified or changed many things with "The Sound of Music". In fact, the family did not live in a castle, but in a villa in Aigen near Salzburg. Their escape from the Nazis also happened differently than the film portrays. They traveled to Italy by train, not over the mountains.

Another myth is that the family was impoverished before they started singing. In reality, Georg von Trapp had lost money during the Great Depression. But they continued to live comfortably. The decision to perform as a musical group came because Maria Trapp had the idea of ​​using the family's musical talent.

There are also misunderstandings about Maria von Trapp herself. She was not the sweet nanny that the film shows. She was strict and disciplined. But she was also the driving force behind the family's musical career.

It is important to separate the facts from the myths in order to understand the true story. This blog post highlights these differences and provides insight into how the family really lived. "The Sound of Music" remains a beautiful but simplified version. The true story is more multifaceted. If you study it, you will not only get to know the family better, but also the time in which they lived.

Other sources:

• Movie vs. Reality: The Real Story of the Von Trapp Family
• Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp
• von Trapp family: Documentation of immigration
• Trapp Family Lodge
• The Sound of Music FAQ
• Sights in Salzburg and the Salzburg region

Questions and Answers about the von Trapp Family

What was the relationship between Georg von Trapp’s children and their stepmother Maria?

Maria was initially received with skepticism by the children, but her passion for music and love for the children quickly created a close bond. They played music together and soon developed a family-like relationship.

Were there conflicts within the Trapp family during their escape?

The escape was not only a logistical but also an emotional challenge for the family. However, there were no reports of major family conflicts during this difficult time.

Did the Trapp family ever have contact with Austria again after their escape?

After fleeing to the United States, the family remained in close contact with their native Austria. They returned occasionally, mainly for concert appearances, but also to maintain their ties to their homeland.

What musical talents did Georg von Trapp himself have?

Georg von Trapp, often portrayed as military, was actually musically gifted. He enjoyed playing various instruments, singing with his children and supporting their musical development.

How did the family live after arriving in the USA?

In the USA, the family settled in Vermont, where they founded the Trapp Family Lodge. They continued their musical legacy and were also heavily involved in social and cultural projects in their new home.

 

 

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Our travel tips for Salzburg

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Other Slow Travel Recommendations here.

 

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Source: On-site research. We would like to thank Salzburg Tourism for the invitation to this trip. The article also contains some Affiliate Links.

Text: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline

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