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Salzburg Part II - Hohensalzburg

Thursday, September 17

A window of nice weather brought us a clear, blue morning sky. Looking out from our Salzburg Hotel room, we were treated to a picture-perfect view of the castle of Hohensalzburg, situated on the hill adjacent to the old city center. Everything but the hill was still in morning shade, so the castle - with its nearly-white walls - seemed to shine like a beacon.

Sunlit castle

Hohensalzburg Castle

The fact that Hohensalzburg shone like a lighthouse atop a promontory was appropriate; for this was to be the main attraction for us today, as we wrapped up our short visit to Salzburg. We would soon be setting out on a walking tour up to and into the castle. Following that, we'd take one final stroll through the old city before returning to the hotel and setting off for Germany, and the next phase of our trip.

courtesy RHanel

Gymcycles

Old tramway

Nonntaler Haupststraße

Although Hohensalzburg Castle was less than a kilometre away in a straight line, the entrance was on the other side. We took a very pleasant walk around the base of the castle's hill (known as the Festungsberg, or fortress hill), passing through some narrow streets and beside some nice parkland before walking up steeply to the main entrance, located on the north slopes of the hill. Already there was a fine view over the rooftops of Salzburg's old city quarters.

courtesy JInnes

Salzburg Parkland

The alps are close

Hohensalzburg Main Entrance

courtesy JInnes

Old Salzburg from above

Main Tramway

After passing through the main entrance and paying for our tickets (there is a fee for visiting the castle), we continued climbing steeply, along a high-walled inner access lane that wound around just inside the outermost walls. After passing through the Arsenal section, we emerged into Hohensalzburg's main courtyard.

courtesy RHanel

Winding Entranceway

The old tramway

The Arsenal

Blacksmith Shop

Main Courtyard

We spent a bit of time exploring the main courtyard, which was quite spacious. An archway provided passage to an excellent south-facing lookout, where we could look across the verdant flats around Salzburg all the way to the nearby edge of the Austrian Alps.

Excellent Lookout

Excellent lookout

Austrian Countryside

Returning back to the courtyard, we continued up to the northwestern corner and entered a building set into the castle's walls. Here the castle's walking tour starts, complete with an audioguide. We learned about the extensive history of Hohensalzburg, which has undergone many transformations and expansions since its original construction in 1077. One interesting fact about Hohensalzburg is that it has never been successfully taken over by force.

After the interpretive displays about the castle's history, we wound up some narrow passageways and stairwells, past various prison and dungeon rooms to the top of a large square tower on the very northwestern corner of the complex. This tower, called the reckturm tower, provides an eagle eye's view not only over much of the interior of the castle, but also down onto the old quarter of Salzburg, which sits just below to the north.