When visiting Salzburg recently, of course I had plans to visit Hohensalzburg Fortress.

This is the castle you can see in the background of most of my photos of Salzburg. It towers over the city and makes for a beautiful backdrop.

One thing I didn’t plan was when I would visit, but that is probably a good thing..

I seemed to have got extremely lucky during my visit early September.

It was nearly 7pm when I started making my way up to the castle from the foot of Salzburg. I wasn’t sure what time it closed or where I was really going but I fancied a wander. Turns out the castle closes at 7pm in summer but as I got to the gates I found there to be nobody around. The place was deserted of staff or any tourists so after contemplating whether I was allowed in or not I decided just to go for it.

I’d not paid the entrance fee’s but at this point I didn’t even know if there was a fee! So I just continued to head upwards. Turns out I was in the castle and by some strange miracle, alone and not surrounded by tourists.

At this point it was dusk, so not quite dark yet. It was an amazing feeling to be able to wander the grounds of something so historical without the moment being ruined by too many people surrounding me being noisy and taking selfies.

I was very lucky to get this opportunity!

As it began to get dark I walked to the edge of the castle to admire the beautiful views of Salzburg.

From the other side of the castle I got far reaching views of Bavaria and the mountains at night! Very creepy feeling to look out from the castle and in to the darkness.

I explored some more of the castle all whilst wondering whether I was going to get trapped in here and have to spend the night!

As I looked out on to the city of Salzburg at night all I could hear was the sound of a piano playing. Assuming it was from one of the many concerts held because of Mozart. It was a spine chilling feeling to be in a castle alone listening to a piano play.

As I walked through the courtyard on my way back to the exit the piano sound faded into the distance to leave nothing but the sound of a cat meowing. I then figured it was too quiet and I should probably head back…

When I finally got back to the entrance the doors were closed! Luckily a tiny door crafted in to the giant door was able to be opened from the inside and I could sneak out for my freedom!

The best way of exploring the castle in my opinion! However I can’t guarantee you’ll get as lucky as I did!

 

 

 

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There are two ways you can head up here. You can of course walk (like I did) or you can catch the funicular all the way to the top. You can use your Salzburg Card to gain entrance or you can pay the €9.80 for the journey up there and entrance to the castle. Alternatively you can try your luck and enter just after closing for an awesome free experience like mine…However, not guaranteed 😉