The old town of Burghausen is the largest city in the Upper Bavarian district of Altötting. It lies on the Salzach, which forms the border with Austria here. Set on a hill above the old town, the Burghausen Castle is the longest castle in the world with 1,051 m.

The castle consists of six courtyards and is built only with few exceptions from travertine. Many of the buildings and the character of the whole system are from the time the Residence of the Bavarian line of the Wittelsbach’s family (1392 - 1503). After the end of the Residence, Burghausen had until 1802 the stewardship and thus capital status, which resulted in further extensions and conversions of the castle. As garrison (1763 - 1891) the castle was last strongly changed again. Large parts of the building were demolished, not least under French occupation of the 1800’s.

The roots of the castle date back far. The exceptional location of the castle hill already resulted in the Bronze and Iron Ages in a settlement in the area of the today’s main castle. In addition, numerous traces of Celtic and Roman times were discovered during excavations. Apart from the foundation remains, the oldest parts of the castle originates from the Middle Ages, the oldest extant written record dates from 1025.

Map: Burghausen
Map: Burghausen