It is an important traffic junction located both on the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway line and at the Tauern Autobahn, a major highway route crossing the main chain of the Alps.

Bischofshofen is situated within the Northern Limestone Alps, in the valley of the Salzach river, about 50 km (31 mi) south of the state capital Salzburg.

The Pongau (pongowe) area was first mentioned in a 711 deed, when a monastery (Cella Maximiliana) was founded through the graces of the Salzburg archbishops and a noble family from Oberalm.

[3] Located south of the Salzburg Werfen valley, Bischofshofen was vested with market rights in the 14th century and rose to become an administrative center and residence for the Bishops of Chiemsee.

More than two thirds of the local population were expelled during the Counter-Reformation measures instigated by Prince-archbishop Count Leopold Anton von Firmian from 1731 onwards.