Hohensalzburg Fortress

One of the largest medieval castles in Europe, 250 metres long and 150 wide, on the Festungsberg at 506 metres above the city. Archaeological work has shown a Roman fort stood at the highest point of the site. Building began in 1077 under Archbishop Gebhard von Helfenstein as a basic bailey with a wooden wall, and the archbishops, already powerful political figures in the Holy Roman Empire, extended it to protect their interests. Helfenstein’s quarrel with Henry IV during the Investiture Controversy shaped that expansion; he took the side of Gregory VII.