The history of Fortress Hohensalzburg

More than 1,000 eventful years

Salzburg's landmark through the ages

Fortress Hohensalzburg is the landmark of the city of Salzburg, towering majestically above the rooftops of the historic old town on the Festungsberg. The ensemble, which has grown piece by piece over the centuries and changed with the respective requirements, can look back on more than 1,000 years of eventful history. It is not for nothing that the entire fortress is now a listed building.

One of the largest intact castle complexes in Europe from the 11th century

The Mozart city of Salzburg is dominated by the walls of Fortress Hohensalzburg, one of the largest intact castle complexes in Europe, whose origins date back to the 11th century. The building is remarkable proof of the prince archbishops ' desire to demonstrate their authoritarian political power as impressively as possible. The primary aim of the fortified complex was, of course, to protect the principality and the archbishops from attack. In fact, the fortress never had to prove its defensive function. In other words, it was never actually attacked. And most of the time, the prince archbishops lived in the Residenz zu Salzburg, the city palace in the heart of the old town.

For over 1,000 years - never attacked & never conquered

Over the centuries, the steep rocky cone has been valued as a strategically favorable location on the northern edge of the Alps. In 1077, under the then Archbishop Gebhard I von Helffenstein, the first fortifications were built above the residential city. The reason for this first building activity was the investiture dispute between the German Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII, on whose side the Archbishopric of Salzburg sided. To this day, Fortress Hohensalzburg has never been taken by military means.

Stone testimony to the power of the archbishops

After Archbishop Gebhard was forced into exile in 1085, his successors completed further construction projects. Fortress Hohensalzburg was built in three phases, with ever stronger defenses to counter the development of long-range offensive weapons. In the course of intensive building activity under Archbishop Leonard von Keutschach, the fortress was given its current appearance around 1500 . Under his regency, the "Hohe Stock" was extended as Pallas in 1501, cisterns were created and existing towers were raised. Today the princely rooms of the fortress are one of the last remaining examples of Gothic secular architecture.

Want to know more?

You can find out even more about the eventful history of Fortress Hohensalzburg in the Fortress Museum or on one of the numerous public guided tours on a wide variety of topics or on an exclusive small group tour through the historic walls.

The Salzburg Bull - a "musical" specialty of the fortress

The Salzburg Bull is by no means an animal - but rather an approximately 500-year-old hornwork - a kind of organ - which Prince Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach had built. It was a kind of "alarm" for the inhabitants of the town. At that time, the more than 130 pipes played an F major triad, including the so-called "old chorale", at 4 a.m. during the week and at 7 p.m. in the evening. Or rather "roared", which is why the Salzburgers referred to the horn mechanism as the "Stier ". Over the centuries, the Stier was restored several times and played different melodies. Today, it sounds daily at 7 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. over the rooftops of the city of Mozart (after the carillon in the Old Town). In addition to the "old chorale", pieces by former Salzburg court conductors such as Johann Ernst Eberlin, Paul Hofhaimer and Leopold Mozart are played today.