Burg Burgruine Plainburg

Großgmain, Austria, Austria

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Burgruine Plainburg, also called Plainburg or locally “Salzbüchsl,” is a ruined medieval fortress in Großgmain in the state of Salzburg, Austria, regarded as one of the oldest castle ruins in the country and a prominent local landmark on a low hill just north of the Untersberg massif.

Its origins are traditionally linked to the 10th century, with the first clear mention in 1140, and the site had earlier significance as a Keltic burial place and strategic point controlling the area around the Reichenhaller salt basin, which was later the main reason for the fortress’s construction and later use as a defense and control point for the important salt trade routes between Bad Reichenhall and Salzburg.

The Plainburg was the ancestral seat of the powerful Counts of Plain, a noble lineage that dominated large parts of the Salzburggau and whose influence is still reflected in the Großgmain coat of arms, and from 1292 the fortress passed to the Archbishopric of Salzburg, becoming at times a Pfleggerichtssitz (administrative and judicial base) and later a military stronghold that was repeatedly rebuilt and altered up to the 18th century.

Today, the original complex survives only in its outer walls, which are over five metres high and about 1.45 metres thick, together with the preserved entrance area, the gateway tower, the inner courtyard, and a deep cistern or well, which is said to be among the deepest in Austria, while the rest has fallen into ruin and disappeared over centuries of neglect after the last soldiers left in 1796 and the fortress began its final decay in the early 19th century.