Burg Gruttenstein

Burg Gruttenstein stands on a hill 500 metres above sea level above the centre of Bad Reichenhall. It is a compact medieval fortress without tall towers, its highest point being the long east–west shield wall that once formed part of the town wall. The three-storey main building shelters the courtyard and the former noble apartments in its north wing. A low gatehouse, once guarded by a door and portcullis, leads into the yard, and medieval records mention a drawbridge at the same spot. The castle was first built in the 12th century for the Hall counts, then rebuilt after 1218 by the Duke of Bavaria to secure his power against the Archbishop of Salzburg. In the 13th century it became the seat of the duke’s local administrator, who ran the court for Reichenhall from here. Parts of the fortress were later enlarged and fitted with large windows to give it a more palatial appearance. The long dispute with Salzburg ended with Gruttenstein intact, and the building still shows both its military origins and its later role as an official residence. Visitors walk through the gatehouse into the small courtyard surrounded by the three-storey north wing. The shield wall at the top of the site offers wide views over Bad Reichenhall and the surrounding countryside. The castle is one of seventeen historic sites on the Reichenhaller Burgenweg, a thirty-kilometre circular walking route that links castles, palaces and fortifications around the town.