On a rocky spur some forty kilometres south of Salzburg, Hohenwerfen Castle has watched over the Salzach valley for nearly a thousand years, a fortress whose building, imprisonments and near-destruction by fire trace much of the turbulent history of the archbishopric it once defended.
Built in a struggle between pope and emperor
Construction began between 1075 and 1078, ordered by Gebhard, prince-archbishop of Salzburg, at the height of the Investiture Controversy, the long conflict between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire over the appointment of bishops. Gebhard, a committed ally of Pope Gregory VII and of the rival king Rudolf of Swabia, chose a naturally defensible promontory commanding a clear view along the Salzach valley, making Hohenwerfen one of three fortified strongholds, alongside Hohensalzburg and the castle of Petersberg in Carinthia, that anchored his archbishopric's defences. Gebhard's resistance to Emperor Henry IV nonetheless forced him into exile, and he died at Hohenwerfen not long after being able to return to Salzburg.
Expansion, war and a state prison
The fortress grew through further building campaigns in the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, gradually taking on the character of a residence and hunting lodge for the prince-archbishops alongside its original military role. During the German Peasants' War of 1525 to 1526, Hohenwerfen served as a defensive outpost against rebelling farmers and miners advancing toward Salzburg. Its darker reputation, however, came from its long use as a state prison: its cells held archbishops, nobles and officials over the centuries, kept under conditions contemporaries described as severe, regardless of the prisoner's rank.
Fire, sale and wartime use
A serious fire in 1931 destroyed much of the castle's eastern and southern sections, prompting extensive restoration. Archduke Eugen of Austria, the owner at the time, sold the property to the Nazi-controlled state of Salzburg in 1938; during the Second World War the castle housed a Nazi leadership training school. After the war it served, until 1987, as a training facility for the Austrian federal gendarmerie, before being converted to its present tourist and cultural use.
Architecture
Hohenwerfen's architecture reflects its long, layered construction: massive perimeter walls, corner towers and a central keep, the Bergfried, sit above courtyards and chapels added as the fortress evolved from a purely military stronghold into a more habitable residence, without ever losing its defensive character.
Visiting today
The castle today operates as a museum, with an armoury displaying medieval weapons and armour among its main attractions. Its best-known feature, however, is a falconry centre offering daily demonstrations of eagles, falcons and owls in flight, a living link to the hunting traditions once practised by the prince-archbishops. A tavern on site serves traditional food, and the castle also offers guided tours and temporary exhibitions, drawing visitors as much for its Alpine setting as for its long and often violent history.