Kropfsberg Castle

The origins of Kropfsberg Castle date back to the first half of the 12th century, when Archbishop Konrad I of Salzburg had a first fortification built at the entrance to the Ziller Valley, probably a tower surrounded by walls. The complex served the Archbishops of Salzburg as an administrative and judicial seat. Kropfsberg was first mentioned in a document in 1286. Under Archbishop Eberhard II of Regensburg, the castle underwent an expansion that gave it its current appearance, including a main castle with two keeps above the old tower. In the 15th century, Kropfsberg was the scene of negotiations, including the settlement of a dispute between Tyrol and Bavaria in 1412 and the reconciliation between Duke Friedrich IV and his brother Duke Ernst of Austria in 1416. Around 1500, Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach had the complex refortified, and 40 years later, a 900-meter-long, eight-meter-high, and three-meter-thick curtain wall with embrasures and semicircular bastions was built. In the following century, Kropfsberg developed into one of the largest castles in Tyrol, protected by a double curtain wall. Despite an expansion to 26,000 square meters, it only offered space for 60 to 80 people. The decline began in 1592 with the relocation of the court seat to Zell am Ziller.