Fortress Hohensalzburg

Salzburg, Austria, Austria

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Fortress Hohensalzburg is a vast medieval fortress dominating the city of Salzburg, Austria, perched on the 506‑metre‑high Festungsberg mountain and serving as the city’s most iconic landmark and emblem.

Originally erected in 1077 under the prince‑archbishops of Salzburg, who financed much of its expansion with wealth from the lucrative salt trade, the fortress grew over several centuries into one of the largest and most complete castle complexes in Central Europe, covering about 32,000 square metres and measuring around 250 metres long by 150 metres wide.

Its design was primarily defensive rather than ornamental, reflecting the archbishops’ fear of popular unrest and the need to protect their political power, and during its long history it was successfully besieged only once, in 1525 during the German Peasants’ War, when miners, farmers, and townspeople failed to take it. Architecturally, the fortress grew in three main phases as weaponry evolved, with key interiors such as the splendid state apartments begun in 1498 by Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach (including the famous Golden Room).