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.

13. Kufstein

Since we had so much extra time on our hands, we took a couple of day trips to nearby towns. First stop was Kufstein, which seems to be a regional center as it was a relatively bustling town. As you can see from the photos, it was also bitterly cold. The town itself is picturesque, set on the banks of a river surrounded by mountains, but the real attraction is the fort/castle hovering over the town.