Germany/Austria Trip #3 - Mondsee

After leaving Salzburg we headed west about an hour to the town of Mondsee. Our purpose for this stop was to see the church building that was used for the wedding scene in The Sound of Music. When we arrived we found out that the town of about 3,000 was conducting their annual Corpus Christi festival. 

It seemed like the entire town was assembled in the town plaza that was in the center of all the restaurants and shops and led to the front of the church. Everyone was dressed up in their traditional dress and people of all ages were there. In fact, it was very obvious that all the extended families were in attendance.

There were older folks dressed in their traditional alpine outfits like these three individuals.

But there were plenty of young families dressed up in their finest too. The couple with the young daughter in white looked like they might have traveled from the big city to join their family and friends for the festival.

These two brothers were having fun playing near a fountain and I snapped an earlier picture of them that I subsequently showed to them. As a result the older brother wanted to pose for this picture with his brother.

This little girl was possibly the sister, or maybe a cousin, to the boys. Anyway, she alternated from being carried around in her mother's arms to scurrying about the plaza. She was a doll!

Then the parade began with all of the trappings. All of the participants were very serious and careful to march in an orderly manner.

The marching band was very musically accomplished. I was surprised that in their repetoire they played the tune for the hymn, "Abide With Me." It was a beautiful rendition.

Our guide later told us that the military personnel that marched were like regional militias that would probably correspond to our National Guard units. Obviously some of the marchers were very young cadets who participated in youth oriented units, and, then too, some marchers were older military veterans.

I have no idea who these ladies were with their curious headresses. Perhaps they belong to some sort of guild that has historical or cultural significance.

Then along came this group of older women dressed in black. I presume that they were widows, but I don't know. Can anyone enlighten us?

Finally after the parade passed out of the plaza toward the lake we were able to gain access to the inside of the church. This then is the aisle used in The Sound of Music for the wedding scene when Maria marries the Captain.

The entire town then marched to this beautiful park on the shores of Mondsee Lake to carry on with the rest of the day's festivities. It is truly a beautiful spot.