Von Trapp hotel plan draws angry protest

The Von Trapp home at the centre of the controversy. Photo by AP.
The Von Trapp home at the centre of the controversy. Photo by AP.
The hills are alive ... with the sound of protest.

Angry Austrians living near a Salzburg villa that once belonged to the Von Trapp family immortalised in the blockbuster hit movie The Sound of Music are fighting plans to turn the home into a hotel.

Opponents have said the neighbourhood already is teeming with tourists drawn to the area where the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer was made.

Organizer Andreas Braunbruck told Austrian television Sunday that neighbours intend to fight the hotel plan "with all means at our disposal".

Salzburg tourism officials had announced plans last week to open the property and an adjacent park to the public for the first time.

But local residents complain they weren't consulted.