HohenSalzburg Fortress

Hohensalzburg is a huge medieval fortress, built on a rocky outcrop by the Prince Bishops, that dominates the city of Salzburg on the plain below. It is one of the largest intact castles in Europe and was never captured by siege.

My Experience

Our visit was as part of a longer stay in the Austrian Tyrol, detailed in my travel blog here.

Salzburg made its money from trading in salt, the name literally means Salt Fortress and there are lots of salt mines in the area, obviously that’s on our list! It was a lovely walk along the riverbank, we saw plenty of the distinctive Austrian onion tipped spires and the castle definitely dominated the view. We crossed one of the bridges into the old town, wandered for a bit as we lost sight of the castle due to the tall buildings and then eventually found the funicular entrance

The castle was about €12 each as we didn’t want to see the staterooms and we actually spent about 3 hours there.
Unusually, the castle was actually owned by the Archbishop rather than a secular magnate and I think I read it was never actually captured. It was originally just a Roman watchtower and then expanded through the eleventh to fifteenth centuries to the huge structure it is today. When you see the height and sheer face of the rock it is built on it is not easy to see why the site was chosen.

Inside there were various museums on the history of the castle, medieval music, weapons and armour, medieval children’s games and the Archduke’s Foot Regiment. Although I’m sure it sounds like purgatory to some we actually spent nearly 3 hours exploring the various rooms. The panoramic photo terrace was just magnificent. The land is so flat and then the mountains just rise up from nothing, quite spectacular.

We were absolutely baking from the end of the visit, not helped by having to wear masks. We sat on the cafe terrace overlooking the town and I indulged in an iced coffee with ice cream and double cream while Deb had her penitent black coffee. Suitably refreshed we took the funicular down the hill and then ambled through the town. As it was now after 7 a lot of shops were closed but it seemed a really pleasant place to walk around and very touristy. Walking along the riverside there were lots of people sunbathing on the bank or paddling and by the time we got back to our room it was bliss to enjoy the AC.

HohenSalzburg Fortress Photo Gallery

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History

Above Salzburg, the city of Mozart, it stands the Hohensalzburg Fortress with its mighty walls, one of the largest preserved fortified complexes in Europe dating back to the 11th century. The impressive construction reflects the ambition of representation and the demonstration of the authoritarian and political power of the archbishop princes of the past. Yet the fortress never had to test its defensive function. The archbishop princes lived mainly in the Salzburg Residence, the palace in the heart of the historic center.

For centuries the steep rocky cone was particularly appreciated for its strategic position at the northern edge of the Alps. In 1077, Archbishop Gebhard I von Helffenstein had a fortified complex built above the city of the Residence for the first time. The reason for this first phase of construction was the investiture struggle between the German emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII, supported by the archbishopric of Salzburg.

Archbishop Gebhard was forced into exile in 1085, his successors ended the plans to follow. The Hohensalzburg Fortress underwent three construction phases, made necessary by the development of offensive weapons which had to be faced with increasingly fortified buildings. Hohensalzburg got its present appearance around 1500, following an intense period of construction under Archbishop Leonard von Keutschach. In 1501, during his reign, the building for residential purposes called “Hoher Stock” was built, several tanks were built and the existing towers were made higher.

The main building of the fortress is at the same time the oldest part of Hohensalzburg and it served as main residence for the archbishops. In 1077 Archbishop Gebhard built a dwelling tower there, which over the centuries became more and more a building with the appearance of a prestigious palace.

Around 1500, Archbishop Leonard von Keutschach had the Hoher Stock transformed into a princely castle with sumptuous rooms. It was protected by the massive bastion of the castle, constituting, from a strategic point of view, a small fortress within the Hohensalzburg fortress.

Today the Hoher Stock looks like a four-story building. Some rooms on the third floor – the princely rooms – are still furnished today as at the time of the archbishop princes. The other spaces house the Museum of the Raine Regiment, while the Fortress Museum is installed on the second floor, where there is a large collection of weapons, sculptures and paintings.

The richly decorated princely rooms are located on the upper floor of the Hoher Stock and were built under Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach. The term “princely rooms” refers to three boardrooms: the Golden Room, the Golden Room and the Bedroom. where pomp and luxury showed all the power and wealth of Leonhard von Keutschach to his foreign subjects and guests.

Inside the Hohensalzburg Fortress there are also two renowned clubs that celebrate the local gastronomy: the fortress brewery and the Hohensalzburg Fortress restaurant, two renowned places that invite guests to take a break immersed in a special setting. Salzburg to enjoy with a breathtaking view of the city of Mozart.

References

There is a nice link on Insta photo spots in Salzburg here.

Hohensalzburg fortress website with full information on visiting and ticket options is here.

The History above is copied from the histouring site here.