Where “Silent Night” Was First Sung
The chapel where the carol was first sung, on Christmas Eve 1818.
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“Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!” was sung for the first time in St Nicholas' Church in Oberndorf on Christmas Eve 1818. The words were by the assistant priest Joseph Mohr, and the organist Franz Xaver Gruber wrote the melody. After the floods of 1897 and 1899 the church was pulled down, and the Silent Night Chapel now stands on the site, with the museum in the old presbytery next door. The walk crosses the Salzach to Laufen in Bavaria and back, so you visit two countries in one afternoon. Oberndorf is half an hour by local train from Salzburg.
The stops
- 1
Silent Night Chapel
The chapel stands where the church stood in 1818. The museum next door tells how the carol spread around the world.
- 2
Europasteg
The footbridge across the Salzach and the border. Oberndorf and Laufen were one town until the river became a border in 1816.
- 3
Laufen Collegiate Church
The great Gothic church of Laufen, on the German side of the river.
- 4
St Nicholas' Church, Oberndorf
The new parish church from the 20th century, built further from the river after the floods.
About the trip
- Where
- Oberndorf bei Salzburg
- Getting around
- On foot
- Time
- 1 h 42 min
- Distance
- 1.8 km
- Stops
- 4
- Themes
- History
Practical
- Start
- The Silent Night Chapel. The Salzburger Lokalbahn runs from Salzburg Hauptbahnhof to Oberndorf, and the chapel is about 1 km on foot from the station.
- Finish
- St Nicholas' Church in Oberndorf, a short walk from the station.
- Toilets
- In the museum and in cafés in Oberndorf and Laufen.
- Accessibility
- A flat route along the river and across two bridges. The chapel is small and gets crowded at Christmas.