The castle was built by the local bishops in the 1200's, and changed hands about 12,000 times between the bishops, the Austrian emperors and the Bavarian kings. The bishops used it both as their residence and a nasty prison where they tortured the locals, while the Austrian and Bavarian rulers fortified it and used it mostly as a defensive point to protect their borders. In addition to being strategically located to defend one of the few entry points through the Alps, it was also located at what seems to be a giant wind tunnel, making it feel like the coldest place on earth, at least the day we were there.