Top 20 Castles around Salzburg

A detour to the ruins is definitely worth it. :)

Mirabell Palace, Salzburg The Baroque Mirabell Palace was originally built as "Altenau Palace" under the reign of Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau in 1606. The palace was created as a gift for Salome Alt, the archbishop's concubine and mother of his children. Mirabell Palace is known for its gardens, which are discussed in a separate article. Wolf Dietrich's successor and adversary, Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus, renamed the building Mirabell Palace. Prince Archbishop Franz Anton Harrach had large sections of the building demolished and rebuilt between 1721 and 1727 according to plans by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt. Mirabell Palace was severely damaged by the great city fire of 1818 and rebuilt in the following years according to plans by Peter Nobile. The formerly dominant tower on the east wing of the palace was destroyed, and the facade was rebuilt in the Neoclassical style. Text / Source: TSG Tourismus Salzburg GmbH, Auerspergstraße 6, Salzburg https://www.visit-salzburg.net/deutsch/sehenswuerdig/schloss-mirabell.htm

Construction & expansion of the early Hohensalzburg Fortress Under the leadership of Prince Archbishop Conrad I (1106 to 1147), a stone tower was built and over the next few years the fortified areas of the castle were continuously expanded. This trend continued throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, until most of today's fortress hill was enclosed. This area was called Bering. By this time, the Investiture Controversy had long since been settled, but Salzburg had developed economically and new conflicts between Bavaria and Babenberg and later Habsburg Austria caused new problems in the region. The "Salz Castle" became increasingly strategically important. The prosperity that Salzburg experienced in the late Middle Ages was accompanied by social unrest. Prince Archbishop Burkhard III of Weisspriach (1461 to 1466) had the four main towers that still exist today built, together with the outer fortification wall: bell tower in the north; trumpeter tower in the northeast; Krautturm in the north; and Schmied- or Arrestantenturm in the south. The Rohrbastei was built under the rule of Burkhard's successor, Prince Archbishop Bernhard von Rohr (1466 to 1481) - the rulers at that time had concerns: the miners in the south of Salzburg were becoming increasingly rebellious and the city's wealthy citizens were demanding more power and influence. But the fear of a Turkish invasion from the east was even more serious. The fortress had to be expanded further. Text / Source: TSG Tourismus Salzburg GmbH, Auerspergstraße 6, Salzburg https://visit-salzburg.net/deutsch/sehenswuerdig/festung-hohensalzburg.htm

Hohensalzburg Fortress (built between 1060 and 1088) It is often described as the largest fortification in Central Europe, it is known as a bulwark in a prominent location, and tourists from overseas often refer to it somewhat incorrectly as "Salzburg Castle": Hohensalzburg Fortress dominates the cityscape and is Salzburg's landmark. No self-respecting tourist should miss a visit to the fortress. The oldest defenses on the southern slope of the Mönchsberg date back to Roman times. Where exactly they are located and how strongly fortified the mountain really was is unclear, however. The location of today's fortress would have made sense even then: from the position of the fortress, the surroundings of Salzburg and the Salzach River can be better controlled than from any other point in the city. Prince Archbishop Eberhard (1060 to 1088) built the first castle here, on the segment of the Mönchsberg that is now known as the Festungsberg. This first castle was completed in 1077 and can be seen as the result of the Investiture Controversy: a power struggle between the Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation, Henry IV, and Pope Gregory VII in Rome. The Archbishop of Salzburg was caught in the crossfire and sided with the Pope. Text / Source: TSG Tourismus Salzburg GmbH, Auerspergstraße 6, Salzburg https://visit-salzburg.net/deutsch/sehenswuerdig/festung-hohensalzburg.htm

Makartsteg - Bridge over the Salzach, Salzburg The Makartsteg is a bridge over the Salzach in Salzburg's old town. It was named after the actually rather insignificant artist Hans Makart, who was born and grew up in Salzburg. As a painter, he established himself in Viennese historicism, appropriately in the capital, where he contributed many very lavish paintings for the redesign of the Ringstrasse buildings. The Makartsteg is only open to pedestrians and cyclists. The current Makartsteg is the youngest and most modern bridge over the Salzach, but already the third bridge of this name. The first was built here in 1905 in the Art Nouveau style, but was torn down again in 1967 when a larger construction became necessary. This second Makartsteg became known as the "swinging bridge" because it vibrated relatively strongly. The editorial team of Visit-Salzburg.net consists mainly of people who still walked the Makartsteg with great pleasure as children; The strong vibrations and oscillations are more likely to be due to weaknesses in the construction and planning than to desired effects. And with around 20,000 people crossing the Makartsteg every day, the second bridge was soon in poor condition too. In 2000 it was demolished. One year later, the current Makartsteg was opened with a big festival including fireworks over the Salzach. Live music along the Salzach on a warm June night ensured that the people of Salzburg immediately took the new bridge to their hearts. Around 25,000 visitors attended the opening. On one side of the Makartsteg you can see the mooring of the Amadeus, the tourist boat that first dropped anchor there at around the same time. Shortly before the bridge was opened, there was a suggestion to name the bridge after the physicist Christian Doppler, who was born not far from the bridge in 1803. Doppler had been virtually forgotten for decades and was only rediscovered by Salzburg in the late 1990s. In addition to a hospital, a school and a sweet from the Fürst house were also named after him. The city administration nevertheless decided to keep the much less important Hans Makart as the namesake. Text / Source: TSG Tourismus Salzburg GmbH, Auerspergstraße 6, Salzburg https://visit-salzburg.net/deutsch/sehenswuerdig/makartsteg.htm

Makartsteg - Bridge over the Salzach, Salzburg The Makartsteg is a bridge over the Salzach in Salzburg's old town. It was named after the actually rather insignificant artist Hans Makart, who was born and grew up in Salzburg. As a painter, he established himself in Viennese historicism, appropriately in the capital, where he contributed many very lavish paintings for the redesign of the Ringstrasse buildings. The Makartsteg is only open to pedestrians and cyclists. The current Makartsteg is the youngest and most modern bridge over the Salzach, but already the third bridge of this name. The first was built here in 1905 in the Art Nouveau style, but was torn down again in 1967 when a larger construction became necessary. This second Makartsteg became known as the "swinging bridge" because it vibrated relatively strongly. The editorial team of Visit-Salzburg.net consists mainly of people who still walked the Makartsteg with great pleasure as children; The strong vibrations and oscillations are more likely to be due to weaknesses in the construction and planning than to desired effects. And with around 20,000 people crossing the Makartsteg every day, the second bridge was soon in poor condition too. In 2000 it was demolished. One year later, the current Makartsteg was opened with a big festival including fireworks over the Salzach. Live music along the Salzach on a warm June night ensured that the people of Salzburg immediately took the new bridge to their hearts. Around 25,000 visitors attended the opening. On one side of the Makartsteg you can see the mooring of the Amadeus, the tourist boat that first dropped anchor there at around the same time. Shortly before the bridge was opened, there was a suggestion to name the bridge after the physicist Christian Doppler, who was born not far from the bridge in 1803. Doppler had been virtually forgotten for decades and was only rediscovered by Salzburg in the late 1990s. In addition to a hospital, a school and a sweet from the Fürst house were also named after him. The city administration nevertheless decided to keep the much less important Hans Makart as the namesake. Text / Source: TSG Tourismus Salzburg GmbH, Auerspergstraße 6, Salzburg https://visit-salzburg.net/deutsch/sehenswuerdig/makartsteg.htm

Not a nice bike path, but great location of the fortress.

To the south of the castle lies the equally impressive large Meierhof, whose structure dates back to the 15th century. The gate tower there was built under Archbishop Leopold Anton von Firmian.