Auerburg Castle (Ruin)

Auerburg is the ruin of a hilltop castle on a rock above Oberaudorf in the upper Bavarian Inn Valley.

Archaeological finds prove that the castle rock was already settled in the Bronze Age and that a first castle complex by local nobility stood here as early as the 12th century. The transfer of ownership from the Counts of Falkenstein to the Wittelsbachs cannot be precisely dated. Auerburg is first mentioned in the Wittelsbach House Treaty of Pavia in 1329. The castle was strategically located between the castles of Kufstein, Thierberg, and Kirnstein and secured the Bavarian dukes' position in the Inn Valley. Thus, around 1350, Auerburg was already referred to as a court and official seat of a caretaker. Since the 15th century, the judicial district was divided into the main administrative units of Kiefersfelden, Nieder- and Oberaudorf, and Fischbach. At the end of the 15th century, the castle was reinforced by the construction of a barbican. After the War of the Bavarian Succession (1503 - 1505), the courts of Kufstein, Kitzbühel, and Rattenberg were lost to the Habsburgs. Auerburg was henceforth a border fortress to Tyrol and was reinforced accordingly. Around 1700, Auerburg was one of the most magnificent castle palaces in the Inn Valley, as shown by an engraving by Michael Wening from 1701. In the War of the Austrian Succession, Austrian troops conquered Auerburg on May 4, 1743. After the Peace of Füssen in 1745, the fortress was razed by Kitzbühel miners in 1747. Today, only minor remains of the castle are visible.