Mauterndorf Castle

Mauterndorf takes its name from the Maut, the toll: the castle was built from the thirteenth century by the archbishops of Salzburg to control and tax the road over the Radstädter Tauern, which carried traffic between Salzburg and Carinthia, and it is a toll station made into a fortress. The Gothic chapel with its wall paintings and the great hall survive. In the twentieth century it passed to Hermann Göring, whose uncle had owned it, and he refurbished it as a residence in the 1930s - a fact the museum does not hide and covers directly. It is now run by the Salzburg museum service with an audio-guided route through the halls, chapel, keep and kitchens, and a falconry display in the grounds in season.

What you actually see

• A toll fortress - built to tax the Tauern road for the archbishops of Salzburg.
• A Gothic chapel - with surviving medieval wall painting.
• The Göring period - the 1930s refurbishment, addressed by the museum.
• An audio-guided route - through halls, keep, kitchens and tower.

When to go

May to October; closed over winter. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Closed for the winter. There are many steps and no lift in the older parts. The Göring association is uncomfortable and the museum treats it as history, not decor.

Nearby

Tamsweg and the Lungau villages are close; the Katschberg is west.