Castles of the Archbishop of Salzburg

The now consolidated border between Austria and Germany, Upper Austria and Bavaria changed over the centuries. Especially the dukes in (Lower) Bavaria, the bishops in Passau and the archbishops in Salzburg competed for sovereignty. Border fortifications by castles played an important role in the consolidation of territorial power.

Archbishop Eberhard II of Regensberg (1200-1246) was able to break the power of the Salzburg nobility and to upgrade Salzburg to an Archbishopric in the 13th century. He prohibited his ministers from building new castles and bought the existing ones. Tittmoning Castle, For example, was built in 1234 as a border fortress of the Salzburg Archbishopric against the Duchy of Bavaria and its Burghausen Castle.

Kaprun Castle, near the Großglockner, also served the Salzburg archbishop - after he had purchased it in 1480 - as a border protection against the duchy of (Upper) Bavaria.

However, border fortifications were also necessary in other parts of the empire, Klausegg Castle on Tamsweg, for example, served as a border fortress against the Duchy of Styria in the east from 1300.