Festungsberg is a mountain in the city of Salzburg in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

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

Hohensalzburg Fortress Hohensalzburg Fortress (german: Festung Hohensalzburg, lit=High Salzburg Fortress) is a large medieval fortress in the city of Salzburg, Austria. It sits atop the Festungsberg at an altitude of 506 m. It was erected at the behest of the Prince-Arc ...

, 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 range within the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), 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 Germa ...

. Archaeological findings date back to the Celtic

La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any defi ...

. 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 ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

above the city of ''Iuvavum'' until King Odoacer of Italy commanded to leave the Province of ''

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic 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, ...

'' in 488. About 715 Bishop

Rupert of Salzburg Rupert of Salzburg (german: Ruprecht, la, Robertus, Rupertus; 660 – 710 AD) was Bishop of Worms as well as the first Bishop of Salzburg and abbot of St. Peter's in Salzburg. He was a contemporary of the Frankish king Childebert III. Rupe ...

established the Benedictine

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

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

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...

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

Reference

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

See also

Reference