Itter Castle

Geschichte

Itter Castle is a 19th-century castle in Itter, a village in Tyrol, Austria. During World War II, it was turned into a Nazi prison for French VIPs and was the site of an extraordinary instance of the U.S. Army, German Wehrmacht, Austrian Resistance, and the prisoners themselves fighting side-by-side against the Waffen SS in the Battle for Castle Itter.LocationThe hill castle is located atop a 666m knoll at the entrance to the Brixental valley, about 5km south of Wörgl and 20km west of Kitzbühel.HistoryA fortress at the site was first mentioned in a 1241 deed, previous constructions may have existed since the 10th century. The Brixental originally was a possession of the Prince-Bishops of Regensburg; the castle was an administrative seat of the Counts of Ortenburg in their capacity as Vogt bailiffs, it also served to protect the Regensburg estates from incursions undertaken by the neighbouring Archbishops of Salzburg. Nevertheless, the Brixental was acquired by Salzburg in 1312 and in 1380 the Regensburg bishops finally sold Itter to Archbishop Pilgrim II of Salzburg.