Festungsberg is a mountain in the city of Salzburg in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, which rises to an elevation of . It is the site of the

Hohensalzburg Fortress Hohensalzburg Fortress () is a large medieval fortress in the city of Salzburg, Austria. It sits atop the Festungsberg mountain at an altitude of 506 m. It was erected at the behest of the prince-archbishops of Salzburg. The fortress is long a ...

, which towers over Salzburg's historic city centre to the north, and forms part of the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Festungsberg forms the northern rim of the

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...

range within the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the ...

Archaeological findings date back to the Celtic

La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...

. The area was fortified during the days of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

above the city of ''Iuvavum'' until King

Odoacer Odoacer ( – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle Danube who deposed the Western Roman child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the ruler of Italy (476–493). Odoacer' ...

of Italy commanded to leave the Province of ''

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...

'' in 488. About 715 Bishop

Rupert of Salzburg Rupert of Salzburg (, ; 660 – 710 AD) was Prince-Bishopric of Worms, Bishop of Worms as well as the first Bishop of Salzburg and abbot of St Peter's Abbey, Salzburg, St. Peter's Abbey in Salzburg. He was a contemporary of the Francia, Frank ...

established the Benedictine

Nonnberg Abbey Nonnberg Abbey () is a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Salzburg, Austria. Founded by Saint Rupert of Salzburg, it is the oldest continuously existing convent, nunnery in the German-speaking world. The monastery complex is today ...

at the eastern foot of the mountain. Archbishop Gebhard had a first castle built at the top during the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

about 1077. Formerly used for grassland or for vineyard cultivation by the monks of St Peter's Abbey, the slopes are nowadays mostly wooded.

References

Mountains of Salzburg La Tène culture {{Austria-geo-stub

See also

References