Hohensalzburg Fortress is a must see in Salzburg, mostly because you can see a beautiful panoramic view of the city as well as the whole valley.The castle in Salzburg is an unmistakable landmark even from far away. The castle has became a major tourist attraction with the Festungsbahn cable car, opened in 1892. It was the 1st tourist place I wanted to go, but eventually I went there after I visited the Salzburg residenz & salzburg cathedral.
We headed to the castle and went atop by the Castle lift, which is a closed cable car similar enough which is used in ropeways /aerial tramways. That is as well an excellent experience Once there, we first saw the cafes. All outdoor cafes were closed, but they offer a beautiful view. Then we stepped to the ‘Reckturm’ watchtower, for great 360° panorama view. The beautiful Austrian alps creates an amazing background around the castle and if weather is good, it is photographers’ paradise.
After that we concentrated to the castle itself.The sky was dark, but still I caught some nice photos 😀 (at least I think I did, lolz). The castle has magnificent regency rooms which are among some of the most beautiful gothic secular chambers in Europe, the torture chamber, the illuminated lower church and the fortress museum. We bought the salzburg card, so everything is included in it. You can also buy the ticket here for 12 EUR.
The whole tour inside the castle must be a guided one, no free roaming allowed. There is free audio guide available along with the tickets. First we took the guided tour to torture chamber. It is a dark room with different equipments for torture the captives and quite intimidating. Here you can see some of them.
After the chamber, we were guided to a top roof, when a beautiful view of the river Salzach along with the whole town along with the castle architecture.Construction of the fortress began in 1077 under Archbishop Gebhard von Helfenstein.This original design was just a basic bailey with a wooden wall. In the Holy Roman Empire, the archbishops of Salzburg were already powerful political figures and they expanded the castle to protect their interests.
he castle was refurbished from the late 19th century onwards. It stands today as one of the best preserved castles in Europe.During the early 20th century it was used as a prison, holding Italian prisoners of war during World War I and Nazi activists in the 1930s. Then we moved towards the chapel , built by Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach. A richly ornamented star vault decorates the ceiling of the chapel.
At last we went for the fortress museum. It contains the weapons mainly along with several playing instruments. Few work of art are also kept. But the amounts of equipments for violent torture like bone crusher, clearly creates an unfavourable impression about the inhabitants of the castle. We also visited the golden chamber and bedchamber here.

We had only one day in Salzburg, so we hurried back to the lift. But one can also walk down b y foot enjoying the beautiful view of the mountains and valleys. Castle remains open till 7 o’clock in May-September: 9 am-7 pm and I visited in September. The hours and tickets can be changed according to the time of a year and occurrence of special events . The fort hosts many festivals and artists from around the world meet here for courses at the International Summer Academy. Besides the medieval rooms, the romantic courtyard and the bastions regularly serve for events like the Fortress Concerts.
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Lovely photos. I have been there twice, four years apart, and both times it was raining! Maybe if I visit again, the third time will be the charm.
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hmm, i think the weather is more often gloomy here.
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I think you’re right!
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Magnificent photography, as always, I particularly like the photos of the town where you can see the bend in the river.
Interesting ‘plate’ sculpture and hideous implements of torture………..do you know how many castles that you have actually visited ?
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Difficult to count, but 8-10 may be.
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But why can’t I see yr blog?
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Very nice clicks! Your pictures have made me fall in love with the place all over again and I so badly want to go back!
We missed the Castle and opted for countryside tour instead but ur post made us visit that too 😉
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Don’t worry, nobody can see the whole. I didn’t go to the sound of music Valley. so, u see one and miss another
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Your photos of beautiful Salzburg from the Castle, and the Castle info and photos too, were a delight.
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Thank you Jet 🙂 Long time did not hear from you. Hope you are doing great
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Yes, doing great my friend! I once lived in Salzburg and I was so happy to see it still looks so gorgeous, many thanks. (Working on completing my novel that keeps me very busy.)
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I will be waiting to read it. Best wishes
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🙂
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Beautiful place. Old cities have something apart which attract me.
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Beautiful indeed.
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Looks amazing! I see why Salzburg is high on my bucket list!
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It is definitely a place worth going. I would suggest to stay one night at least. Then you can enjoy it fully.
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I plan to do Munich-Salzburg-Vienna in 2017 for my Easter break. This year it’s Berlin-Prague-Bratislava. Too many amazing places, too little money and free time!
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U r soo right about the money:D
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I love the views of the city and river. So pretty!
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Thank you
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Beautiful captures
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Thank you
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What a beautiful town!
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I liked it very much, specially the cornfields miles after miles with alpine mountains in the background
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Wow. I may have to look! Not gmo corn right?
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What is gmo corn?
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We went to the torture museum in San Gimignano Italy. In spite of many years of working with violent and sexual offenders, I found the content to be surprisingly upsetting.
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Yes they are
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What a beautiful post! I was there with a group from school when I was 18 and remember the view. And loved all your added history!! thanks for brining back all the memories!
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Thanks Rhonda, great that you like it 😊
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Did you miss the sound of music tour where they shoot the whole sound of music movie
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Yes I did. But I ll go back there some day again
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Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. I haven’t been there since.. wait for it… 1978 … and I can remember having coffee on the top. It hasn’t changed and you can still sit there…
I was going to show you a couple of pictures of us sitting on the top… but its the same save for a few buildings down in the town…. oh how lovely. I feel I should return…
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Then you must 🙂
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Outstanding photos. Maybe some day will get to see the real thing.
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Sure you ll 😊
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Delightful photos! Have visited here a couple of times – the first as an impoverished student and the second 3 years ago when we could afford to visit the cafe and go round the fortress – love the views from the top too! 🙂
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Thanks , I loved the castle too.
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