Lying at the northern boundary of the Alps, on the banks of the Salzach River, the city of Salzburg is among the oldest and most significant spiritual and cultural centres of Austria. The closest alpine peak (Untersberg, 1,972 metres) is just a few kilometres from the city's downtown area. The historical area of the city is dominated by Baroque towers and monumental churches. Interestingly, since the earliest times, it has been divided into two regions on the sides of the Tauern Mountains. The names Pinzgau and Pongau date back to the 700s. Lungau was first mentioned in a written document in the first half of the 10th Century.

Archaeologists have presented evidence that the area of modern Salzburg was settled as far back as the Neolithic Age. It was believed to have become a Celtic camp later. After 15 BC, the scattered communities gradually united into a town, which became known as Juvavum, after the Romans captured it. It was elevated to a municipium, the second-highest class of a Roman city. Its regional importance began to grow after 45 BC.
 
Bavarian dukes ruled the province of Salzburg in the 7th Century. Later, in 700  Bishop Rupert von Worms was appointed to the position of a missionary in the region. He established the monastery of St Peter in Juvavum as his base. Salzburg was known as one of the wealthiest churches in Franconia thanks to the large donations of the Bavarian dukes. It became a bishopric in 739, and an archdiocese in 798. The Irish bishop Virgil consecrated the newly built Salzburg Cathedral in 774.

In the early Middle Ages, Salzburg's political and cultural influence spread to parts of present-day Hungary and Croatia  This was primarily in result of the missionaries' activities. The Hungarians put an end to the first stage of colonisation towards the East with their invasions in the early 10th Century.  In the 13th Century, the archbishops began to oust large landowners and expand their influence by using vast manorial lands as a basis for power. The most prominent archbishop of this period, Eberhard II, adopted the title of prince in 1213. By the 1290s Land Salzburg had practically become an autonomous community.

Significantly, in the late 14th Century, Salzburg acquired independence from Bavaria. The archbishopric and Land of Salzburg comprised regions of the present-day Tyrol and what is called today the Federal Province of Salzburg.