Ruine Thürndl

The Ruine Thürndl is the remains of a medieval hilltop fortification standing on the southern tip of a ridge that stretches from the Barmsteins down to above Hallein. The ruins lie just 300 metres east of the boundary between Marktschellenberg in Germany and Austria, yet they belong to the town of Hallein. Once called Schozzries or Schoßrisen, the site was part of a larger defensive network in the 13th century. A wall once linked it to Salzburg’s northern gate, the Salzburger Tor, through the Bannwald forest. Records from 1271 show the Berchtesgaden monastery granting a nearby salt pit to Salzburg’s cathedral chapter, tying the area to early mining activity. The tower still standing measures roughly nine by ten metres. Fifteen-metre-high sections of its north and east walls remain, capped with battlements and a projecting cornice. Archaeologists hope further excavations will reveal more about the original corner tower’s size and shape. After years of weathering threatened to dislodge stones onto the Arnoweg path, restoration began in 2003 and finished in 2008. The work was funded half by the Salzburg provincial government and split equally among Hallein town council, the Federal Monuments Office and private donors. Visitors reach the ruins from Hallein by following the Antoniusweg and the Dürrnberg-Landesstraße to the Kleinkirchentalweg. A short walk brings you to an information board, then a set of wooden steps leads up the Bürgermeister-Alois-Oedl-Steig (Path 459) through the forest. From the German side, a gentler route starts at a 2012 inn at the foot of the small Barmstein and climbs the almost flat ridge in about fifteen minutes. The tower’s crumbling walls and the sweeping views over the surrounding valleys make the short climb worthwhile.