Castles for Toll and Trade in the Archbishopric of Salzburg

In addition to the castle groups, which mainly took over administrative and judicial tasks, the castles of the Salzburg archbishop were also responsible for controlling the trade routes. Castles were combined into chains of toll booths in order to secure the archbishopric, which was crossed by trade routes. The proximity to numerous trade routes from Italy (Venice, Bolzano, Verona, Bologna, Florence), which converged in a few valleys and mountain passes in the Archbishop's Monastery, made it obligatory to guard these important sources of income.