Towers on a high rock outcrop immediately above the Salzach river and the village of Werfen.
Originally built in the 11th century to guard the Lueg Pass just to the north, it was the seat of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg for 500 years, and served also as a court and prison. Additions were made to it in the 12th century, in the 16th after damage by rioting farmers & miners of the region and finally in the 17th during the 30 Years War. After 200 years of neglect under Bavarian rule, it was renovated in the 19th century by the Austrian Archdukes. In 1931 it was severely damaged by a fire, but was renovated within a year.
Since 1938 it has been a police training camp and a youth hostel, before becoming the tourist attraction it is today. It featured as the Schloss Adler where much of the action took place in the 1968 film 'Where Eagles Dare', although the cablecar scenes were shot elsewhere in Austria, in Ebensee.