Salzburg Castle: A Visit to Austria’s Iconic Medieval Fortress

Salzburg Castle is one of the most iconic castles in Europe. Its imposing presence atop Salzburg’s highest point gives modern-day visitors a spectacular view. A visit to Salzburg wouldn’t be complete without ascending to the top of this hill to visit the castle’s grounds and museums.

The castle is unlike many others in that it offers visitors several things to see besides the castle itself. It has the typical courtyard and a tour of several of its rooms, but it also has five museums contained within its walls. The different museums include the Fortress Museum, the Armoury, the Prince’s Chambers, the Rainer Regiment Museum and the Marionette Museum.

In this guide to Salzburg Castle, I’ll describe each of these museums plus some of the other features you can find here. I’ll also provide helpful information regarding how to visit to help you get the most out of your time at the castle.

Updated March 2024

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I will earn a small commission. This occurs at no added cost to you.

Salzburg Castle at a Glance

History of Salzburg Castle

Salzburg Castle, formally known as Hohensalzburg Fortress, was first built in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard von Helfenstein as a bulwark of the Catholic Church against competing interests from the Holy Roman Empire. The conflict stemmed from the appointing of church officials by King Henry IV, a practice that had been occurring for years but the then-pope, Gregory VII, prohibited. Archbishop Gebhard sided with Pope Gregory VII and had the fortress constructed as a show of the Church’s strength.

Over the ensuing centuries, Salzburg Castle was further developed into the mighty fortress that we see today. You can see parts of the expansions in the Fortress Museum, where former windows have been excavated within newer walls that were built to grow the castle outwards.

The size and location of the fortress atop the hill didn’t just withstand attacks during its lifetime but prevented them altogether for 800 years. Then, Napoleon invaded. Rather than fight against the French army, the fortress and city were both surrendered without a struggle.

Eventually, Salzburg became part of the Austrian Habsburg Empire and was transformed into a tourist attraction in the 1860s by Emperor Franz Josef.

Museums and Grounds of Salzburg Castle

Throughout Salzburg Castle are five different museums and several visitable areas that aren’t part of any museum. Each museum can be visited with the purchase of an all-inclusive ticket or the Salzburg Card. If you purchase the basic ticket, the only museum you can’t see is the Prince’s Chambers.

There is no particular order you have to visit the museums in, but they’re arranged in such a way that is more or less a one-way route. Here is the order we visited them in.

Marionette Museum

The tiny Marionette Museum is one of the first sections you’ll come across after entering the castle grounds. It’s a bit underwhelming, but since it only takes 5-10 minutes visit, it’s worth at least stopping in to see some of the marionette displays.

This museum also has a couple bizarre videos with CGI marionettes. One provides some interesting information on the Peasants’ Revolt of 1525. I found it odd that the videos were made with CGI instead of actual marionettes, though.

Fortress Courtyard

Castle Salzburg is almost worth visiting just to walk around the courtyard and grounds without adding any of the museums.

Turning left off the funicular takes you through an enclosed path to the castle’s courtyard where you’ll see a few cannons and an old well. A peek through one of the cannon’s windows offers a nice picture of Salzburg past the barrel of the gun.

When you arrive at the courtyard, take a few minutes to walk around and admire the different buildings. In a corner ahead of you to the right is the Armoury, a museum detailed below. To your left is the Kuenburg Bastion. From here, you have great panoramic views of the city stretching away from the castle. Looking across the river, you can see the city walls built on the hill as a further deterrent for potential invaders.

Other things you can see from the courtyard include an old train system used to transport goods from the city below to the castle’s residents and the exterior of St George’s Chapel.

Going back into the castle, there’s a small room before you reach the museums with portraits of all the prince-archbishops. This room also has a scale model of Castle Salzburg.

Apparently, there’s an audioguide tour you can take around the grounds that describes some of the buildings. We missed this, but I don’t remember even seeing anything about it. If that sort of thing interests you, make sure to ask an employee about it.

Armoury

In a corner off of the courtyard is the Armoury. This small, modern museum has several interactive exhibits and medieval military objects on display. It’s a great spot for kids either at the beginning of your tour or somewhere in the middle if their interest is starting to wane.

Despite that, the child in me thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it didn’t have quite enough to keep the adult in me entertained for long. The Armoury has a couple different games for kids to play and a photo booth to see what you would look like as a knight.

We spent around 10 minutes in here, but if you’re visiting with kids, you might want to plan for around 20-30 minutes.

Prince’s Chambers

One of the more unique parts of the castle is the Prince’s Chambers. This museum is a short, 15-to-20-minute tour of three living areas of the castle.

The three rooms on display are a large banquet hall, the Golden Chamber and a bedroom. What sets the Prince’s Chambers apart from similar castles in Western Europe (and, for that matter, from the rest of Salzburg Castle) is the styling and decorative motifs of the rooms.

Each room is adorned with beautiful dark wood and ornate decorative motifs. The decoration seems much more Eastern European than what I’m accustomed to and some aspects even seem borrowed from Ottoman themes. In one of the rooms is a great example of a medieval masonry heater.

Also found in the Prince’s Chambers is the Magic Theater, a small puppetesque show with cutouts about Salzburg Castle. I’m not sure how long the show runs for or if it’s worthwhile as it wasn’t on display during our visit.

Fortress Museum

The Fortress Museum is the meat and potatoes of Salzburg Castle. As such, your visit here will take around an hour of your time. The Fortress Museum has many exhibits detailing the history of the castle, including its several expansions and what life was like for those who lived here.

I thought the museum did a great job telling the history of the area, especially the role of the city’s prince-archbishops. Between the different information cards, objects and videos, I came away with a decent understanding of Salzburg’s medieval history.

I particularly enjoyed the short videos sprinkled throughout the museum. The animation style reminded me of Terry Gilliam’s work on Monty Python’s Flying Circus. They also had amusing narrations, though I’m not sure if this was intentional or not. The scripts were either designed for children or else by someone with an incomplete foundation of English translations. Whatever the reason, some of them gave me a good chuckle while still being informative.

Another feature of the museum I liked was how you could see the expansions of Salzburg Castle in different rooms. Through excavations, it’s apparent where they enclosed older walls to build additional rooms and halls.

Rainer Regiment Museum

The Rainer Regiment Museum is an interesting if somewhat out-of-place exhibit in Salzburg Castle. It tells the story of the Salzburg’s Rainer Regiment, one of Austria’s more notorious infantry units.

The Rainer Regiment dates back to 1682 when they first fought against the Turks in the Great Turkish War and saw action in Austria’s wars until it was disbanded at the end of World War I in 1918. Inside the museum are objects and information detailing this history.

I wasn’t particularly excited for this exhibit since I didn’t know any of this history to put it into context. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it for what it was. It only took about 15-20 minutes to tour, which was a perfect length. Without any historical context and after touring everything else, anything longer would have been too much.

The section on the regiment’s action in World War I was especially good and didn’t require much knowledge of the regiment. It more so was an explainer on the brutality and horrors that were seen in this war.

Tower Viewpoint

Perhaps the best part of Salzburg Castle is the view from the Recturm tower. The entrance for the tower is to the right of the funicular station, and from there, it requires a steady climb to the top. It’s a much easier climb than most other towers in Europe. It also has a couple small exhibits to stop at on the way to and from the top.

Once you reach the top, you’re rewarded with magnificent 360-degree views of the Austrian Alps and Salzburg. An additional helpful feature at the tower is signs in each direction saying what you’re looking at.

Expect to spend around 10 minutes at the tower viewpoint with an additional 10 minutes walking to and from it.

For a slightly less impressive view of the mountains, there’s a viewpoint from the ground level between the tower and the cafe. You won’t get a view of the city, but if the tower is crowded, this viewpoint of the Alps is a nice alternative.

Concerts at Salzburg Castle

It’s only fitting that in the city where Mozart was born that Salzburg Castle would offer classical concerts in its halls. The castle has concerts nearly every night of the year in the Prince’s Chambers, making this a good opportunity to not only hear some fine chamber music but to also see this part of the castle away from the crowds.

Shows typically start at either 8:00 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. and last for 90 minutes. You also have the option of combining your concert at Salzburg Castle with a three-course meal at the castle’s restaurant.

Eating at Salzburg Castle

There are two restaurants at Salzburg Castle near the backside of the castle. One, Burgscenke, is designed as a medieval tavern with more basic fare. I didn’t stop here, but photos look like it’s designed to cater to tourists. Still, it could be a good spot for a drink after touring the castle.

The other option is the Panorama Restaurant. This restaurant looks and sounds more upscale than Burschenke if you are looking for a nicer meal with views of the city.

We also saw a smaller outdoor cafe serving drinks and snacks towards the back of the castle, as well. This could be a great option if you just want something quick while taking in views of the Austrian Alps.

Ticket Options for Salzburg Castle

Salzburg Castle has several ticket options, but fortunately, the differences are pretty straightforward.

The Salzburg Card is likely to be the best bargain if you’re planning on seeing multiple sights in Salzburg. It includes all the sights in Salzburg Castle plus the funicular or nearby elevator at Monchsberg. The Salzburg Card’s cost varies by season and whether you’ll need it for 24, 48 or 72 hours. Do the math on everything you’ll be visiting to see if it will be worth purchasing.

Besides the city card, Salzburg Castle offers four ticket options: a basic ticket, an all-inclusive ticket, and either of those tickets with or without the funicular. The only difference between the basic and all-inclusive ticket is the addition of the Prince’s Chambers and the Magic Theatre. Prices range from €10.80 for the basic ticket without the funicular to €17.40 for the all-inclusive ticket with the funicular.

How to Get to Salzburg Castle

You can either walk or take the quick funicular to get to Salzburg Castle.

The funicular is the easiest and quickest way to reach the castle. From town, look slightly below the castle and you’ll see the funicular to get an idea of how to reach it. Make your way towards Festungsgasse at the back of Kapitelplatz (near where the waterwheel is) and you’ll eventually reach the entrance for the funicular.

If walking, you have two choices for reaching Salzburg Castle. The shortest way is uphill on Festungsgasse. It is a bit of a climb, so keep that in mind.

The other option to reach Salzburg Castle by foot is to walk along the wooded path leading from Museum of Modern Art about a mile away. Near the museum is an elevator from town, or you can climb various stairways at different points along the path. Along the way, you’ll have shade and some fine views of Salzburg.

Other Things to do Near Salzburg Castle

Because Salzburg is so compact, it has many sights within close proximity to each other. Here are just a few of my favorite things you could do after your visit to Salzburg Castle.

Another popular activity in Salzburg is to take a day trip to Hallstatt, but is a single day worth the time to get there? Find out here!

Mozart’s Birthplace

Even if you aren’t a classical music fan, you should still consider a visit to Mozart’s Birthplace, especially if you are using the Salzburg Card. It has objects and information from Mozart’s life, but more than anything, it’s a fine museum that shows what middle class life was like in the 18th century.

Panorama Museum

The Panorama Museum is a delightful little museum featuring a panorama painting with a circumference of 85 feet of Salzburg from 1829. With its massive size, you can easily see how Salzburg has changed over the past 200 years. In addition to the panorama, the museum also has old photos with captions explaining significant changes in Salzburg over the years.

Beginning March 2023, the Panorama Museum will be closed as they move it to a new museum being assembled in Mirabell Gardens. It is expected to open sometime in 2025.

See a Marionette Show

Whether visiting Salzburg with kids or not, you should seriously consider making time to see a marionette show at the Salzburg Marionette Theater. The performers at this theater are renowned for their expertise at handling marionettes in a way that is both enchanting and endearing for audiences of all ages.

This experience ended up being one of my highlights from our trip to Germany and Austria. Make sure to check their website ahead of time for schedules and to purchase tickets.

Viewpoint from Kapuzinerberg

Salzburg Castle offers some great views of the city, but possibly the best viewpoint of all is across the river from Kapuzinerberg. You can access paths up to the viewpoint from stairs off either Steingasse or Linzergasse.

Frequently Asked Questions About Salzburg Castle

Which museum(s) can be skipped if my time is limited?

Right off the bat, you can skip the Marionette Museum. The next museum you can skip is the Armoury. While the Armoury had some interesting things, none of it was anything you have to see if pressed for time.

After those two, you could also skip the Prince’s Chambers. The rooms were pretty and unique from other castles I’ve visited, but of the three remaining museums, it’s the least interesting.

How can I avoid crowds at Salzburg Castle?

The best way to avoid crowds is to plan your tour early or late in the day. We showed up almost right when Salzburg Castle opened and had pretty light crowds through most of our visit. The only two times we ran into crowds were in the Rainer Regiment Museum and at the tower. Both of those were towards the end of our time there, which I think is why it started to get crowded.

Another easy way to avoid some of the crowds is to purchase your tickets online ahead of time. This will let you skip some of the queuing time once you’re at the castle.

When is the best time of year to visit Salzburg Castle?

Salzburg tends to be busiest during the summer months from June to August. This time of year also has the hottest months. From September to October, the weather cools off some and crowds start to decrease.

Christmas is another good time to visit. Crowds pick up to experience Salzburg’s Christmas Market, and the snowy, alpine setting makes for a nice backdrop during the holiday season. Castle Salzburg also has its own Christmas market set up in the courtyard. If you want to visit the market, make sure to check for its opening hours as it was closed when we visited early in the day.

If you’ll be in Austria over the holidays, don’t miss Vienna on New Year’s Eve!

Resources to Book Your Trip to Salzburg

Whether you’re looking for tours, hotels or flights, here are some tools to help get you started planning your trip to Salzburg!

Look for activities and tours offered through GetYourGuide or Viator!

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? Check out my travel essentials for more of my recommendations.

Pin This Post!