Burg Hohenwerfen
Encyclopedia
Hohenwerfen Castle stands on a rock approximately 40 km south of the Austria
n city of Salzburg
. The castle is majestically surrounded by the Berchtesgaden Alps
and the Tennengebirge mountain range. The fortification is a "sister" of Hohensalzburg Castle both dated from the 11th century.
The former fortification
was built between 1075 and 1078 during the Investiture Controversy
by the order of Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg
as a strategic bulwark
atop a 155 metre rock, high above the Salzach
valley. Gebhard, an ally of Pope Gregory VII
and antiking
Rudolf of Rheinfelden, had three major castles extended to secure the Salzburg archbishopric
against the forces of King Henry IV
: Hohenwerfen, the Festung Hohensalzburg and Petersberg Castle at Friesach
in Carinthia
. Nevertheless Gebhard was expelled in 1077 and could not return to Salzburg until 1086, only to die at Hohenwerfen two years later.
In the following centuries Hohenwerfen served Salzburg's rulers, the prince-archbishops
, not only as a military base
but also as a residential and hunting retreat. The castle was extended in the 12th century and to a lesser extent again in the 16th century during the German Peasants' War
(German: Bauernkriege), when looting and rioting farmer
s and miner
s from the South of Salzburg moved towards the city in 1525 and 1526.
Alternatively it was used as a state prison
and therefore had a somewhat sinister reputation. Its prison walls have witnessed the tragic fate of many 'criminals' who spent their days there - maybe their last - under inhuman conditions, and, periodically, various highly ranked noblemen have also been imprisoned there including rulers such as Archbishop
Adalbert III (1198), Graf Albert von Friesach (1253), the Styrian governor Siegmund von Dietrichstein (1525) and Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau
(1611).
In 1931 the fortress, then owned by Archduke Eugen of Austria
was severely damaged by a fire and, though largely restored, finally had to be sold to the Salzburg Reichsgau
in 1938. After World War II it was used as a training camp by the Austrian Federal Gendarmerie
(rural police) until 1987.
Nowadays the bastion, enlarged and renovated several times over the centuries, functions as an adventure castle for its visitors. Among the numerous attractions offered by the fortress are guided tours showing its extensive weapons collection, the historical Salzburg Falconry
with the falconry museum as well as a stylish fortress tavern. The historic Falconry Centre is a special attraction, offering daily flight demonstrations by various birds of prey.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n city of Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
. The castle is majestically surrounded by the Berchtesgaden Alps
Berchtesgaden Alps
The Berchtesgaden Alps are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, named after the market town of Berchtesgaden located in the centre...
and the Tennengebirge mountain range. The fortification is a "sister" of Hohensalzburg Castle both dated from the 11th century.
History
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
was built between 1075 and 1078 during the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
by the order of Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg
Gebhard of Salzburg
Blessed Gebhard of Salzburg , also occasionally known as Gebhard of Helfenstein, was Archbishop of Salzburg from 1060 until his death. He was one of the fiercest opponents of King Henry IV during the Investiture Controversy....
as a strategic bulwark
Bulwark
Bulwark may refer to:*A bastion or fortifications in general*In naval terminology, an extension of a ship's sides above deck level*HMS Bulwark, any of several Royal Navy ships*USS Bulwark, any of several US Navy ships...
atop a 155 metre rock, high above the Salzach
Salzach
The Salzach is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Inn and is 225 kilometres in length.The river's name is derived from the German word Salz, meaning "salt". Until the 19th century shipping of salt down the river was an important part of the local economy...
valley. Gebhard, an ally of Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...
and antiking
Antiking
An Antiking is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. Antikings are more often found in elected monarchies than in hereditary monarchies like those of England and France; such figures in hereditary...
Rudolf of Rheinfelden, had three major castles extended to secure the Salzburg archbishopric
Archbishopric of Salzburg
The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire, its territory roughly congruent with the present-day Austrian state of Salzburg....
against the forces of King Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
: Hohenwerfen, the Festung Hohensalzburg and Petersberg Castle at Friesach
Friesach
Friesach is a historic town in the Sankt Veit an der Glan district of Carinthia, Austria. First mentioned in a 860 deed, it is known as the oldest town in Carinthia.-Location:...
in Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
. Nevertheless Gebhard was expelled in 1077 and could not return to Salzburg until 1086, only to die at Hohenwerfen two years later.
In the following centuries Hohenwerfen served Salzburg's rulers, the prince-archbishops
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
, not only as a military base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
but also as a residential and hunting retreat. The castle was extended in the 12th century and to a lesser extent again in the 16th century during the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
(German: Bauernkriege), when looting and rioting farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s and miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
s from the South of Salzburg moved towards the city in 1525 and 1526.
Alternatively it was used as a state prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and therefore had a somewhat sinister reputation. Its prison walls have witnessed the tragic fate of many 'criminals' who spent their days there - maybe their last - under inhuman conditions, and, periodically, various highly ranked noblemen have also been imprisoned there including rulers such as Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Adalbert III (1198), Graf Albert von Friesach (1253), the Styrian governor Siegmund von Dietrichstein (1525) and Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau
Wolf Dietrich Raitenau
Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau was Prince-Bishop of Salzburg from 1587 to 1612.-Biography:Raitenau was born at Hofen Castle in Lochau near Bregenz in Further Austria, the son of the Habsburg colonel Hans Werner von Raitenau and Helene von Hohenems, a niece of Pope Pius IV, sister of Markus Sitticus...
(1611).
In 1931 the fortress, then owned by Archduke Eugen of Austria
Archduke Eugen of Austria
Archduke Eugen Ferdinand Pius Bernhard Felix Maria of Austria-Teschen was an Archduke of Austria and a Prince of Hungary and Bohemia...
was severely damaged by a fire and, though largely restored, finally had to be sold to the Salzburg Reichsgau
Reichsgau
A Reichsgau was an administrative subdivision created in a number of the areas annexed to Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945...
in 1938. After World War II it was used as a training camp by the Austrian Federal Gendarmerie
Federal Gendarmerie
The Gendarmerie of Austria called the , Federal Gendarmerie, was an Austrian federal police force. It was responsible for approximately two thirds of the population on approximately 98% of Austrian national territory, alongside the Federal Safety Guard Corps and Kriminalbeamtenkorps...
(rural police) until 1987.
Nowadays the bastion, enlarged and renovated several times over the centuries, functions as an adventure castle for its visitors. Among the numerous attractions offered by the fortress are guided tours showing its extensive weapons collection, the historical Salzburg Falconry
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
with the falconry museum as well as a stylish fortress tavern. The historic Falconry Centre is a special attraction, offering daily flight demonstrations by various birds of prey.
Films
- Hohenwerfen was used as the castle 'Schloss Adler' in the 1968 film Where Eagles DareWhere Eagles DareWhere Eagles Dare is a 1968 World War II action-adventure spy film starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It was directed by Brian G. Hutton and shot on location in Upper Austria and Bavaria....
. Although the memorable cable carAerial tramwayAn aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
scenes were filmed using the Feuerkogel-Drahtseilbahn in EbenseeEbenseeEbensee is a market town in the Traunviertel region of the Austrian state of Upper Austria, located within the Salzkammergut Mountains at the southern end of the Traunsee. The regional capital Linz lies approximately to the north, nearest towns are Gmunden and Bad Ischl...
as Hohenwerfen Castle has no cable car, unlike the fictional 'Schloss Adler' . - Hohenwerfen Castle appears in the background of The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (film)Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
during 'Do Re Mi'. - Exterior shots of the castle were used as a French hotel in the movie Just MarriedJust MarriedJust Married is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and written by Sam Harper starring Ashton Kutcher and the late Brittany Murphy. In its opening week, the film was number one, making $17 million at the box office. It stayed in the Top 10 for 4 weeks.-Plot:The film starts...
. - Exterior shots of Hohenwerfen Castle were used in the TV mini series The 10th KingdomThe 10th KingdomThe 10th Kingdom is an American epic fantasy miniseries written by Simon Moore and produced by Britain's Carnival Films, Germany's Babelsberg Film und Fernsehen, and the USA's Hallmark Entertainment...
. In that series, it represented the Snow White Memorial Prison.