Julie is the central protagonist of the story. Her full name is Julie Braun, though she is sometimes referred to as Julie Brown depending on the translation. She is an eleven-year-old girl who initially lives a peaceful life in the lush mountain pastures of the Southern Tyrol region of Austria with her parents.

Julie's world is shattered when her parents are accidentally killed during an air raid by Italian soldiers near the end of World War I. Orphaned, she is forced to leave her beloved countryside home and move to Vienna to live with her uncle’s family, the Klemen family. This tragedy and relocation serve as the foundation for her character arc and the central conflict of her story.

In terms of personality, Julie is portrayed as an innocent, sweet, and good-hearted girl. She is a classic country mouse, finding herself a stranger in a big city environment that is very different from the rural traditions she was born into. While she is kind and tries her best to fit in, she can also be a little naive at the start of her journey. Her primary motivation is to adapt to her new life while staying true to herself and the customs of her Tyrolean homeland. She is fundamentally a good-natured person who does not have difficulty making new friends due to her character. A significant internal motivation is her fear of becoming a burden to her relatives, who are already suffering from severe economic troubles. The family, however, consistently reassures her that she is not a guest but a full member of the family.

Regarding her role in the story, Julie is the lens through which the hardships of post-World War I Austria are explored. She witnesses firsthand the difficult economic situation as her Uncle Karl loses his job at a glass factory and the family must struggle to make ends meet. Despite these dark circumstances, Julie brings hope and light to those around her, largely through her discovery of her musical talent. Her journey is one of resilience, from a grieving orphan to a young woman who finds her place and her voice in the capital city.

Julie forms several key relationships that define her new life. Her closest companion is her cousin Tania, a girl her own age who becomes her best friend and classmate. Another important relationship is with her other cousin, Johann, the eldest son. He initially resents Julie, seeing her as another mouth to feed during a time of scarcity, but he quickly grows to care for her, eventually seeing her as a new sister. She also brings a pet squirrel named Pepe with her from Tyrol, who serves as her first friend in the lonely days after her arrival. At school, she becomes the object of affection for Alan, the most admired and intelligent boy, which immediately sparks a jealous rivalry with a wealthy and snobbish classmate named Carolina.

Throughout the series, Julie undergoes significant development. She begins as a simple, somewhat naive farm girl from the countryside but grows into a more confident and determined citizen of Vienna. She starts to feel nostalgia for her lost home in Tyrol, but she learns to overcome these feelings and embrace her new life. Her most notable ability is her talent as a singer. As the story progresses, she proves herself to be an excellent vocalist, using songs from the classical tradition and her homeland to cheer up her family and friends. This talent leads to a major triumph when she is chosen as the soloist for the choir of St. Charles Cathedral, the largest and most important church in Vienna, despite attempts by Carolina to sabotage her. This achievement marks her final transformation from a grieving country orphan into a celebrated young woman with a place in her new community.