The Ramparts and Battlements atop Festung Hohensalzburg, Salzburg, Austria:
Hohensalzburg, literally “High Salzburg Fortress”) sits atop the Festungsberg, a small hill in the Austrian city of Salzburg. Erected at the behest of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg with a length of 250 m and a width of 150 m, it is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe.
Hohensalzburg Fortress was refurbished from the late 19th century onwards and became a major tourist attraction with the Festungsbahn funicular railway, opened in 1892, leading up from the town to the Hasengrabenbastei. It stands today as one of the best preserved castles in Europe.
During the early 20th century it was used as a prison, holding Italian prisoners of war during World War I and Nazi activists before Germany’s annexation of Austria in the 1930s.
Hohensalzburg Fortress was selected as main motif for the Austrian Nonnberg Abbey commemorative coin minted on April 5, 2006. This was the first coin of the series “Great Abbeys of Austria”. Also in 1977 the Austrian Mint issued a coin for the 900th anniversary of Hohensalzburg Fortress.