It is located in Dürnstein, in the Lower Austrian Wachau region on the Danube river, at 312 metres (1,024 ft) above sea level.

Hadmar, who also founded nearby Zwettl Abbey, had the fortress constructed in a strategic location overlooking the river Danube.

The castle is known for being one of the places where King Richard I of England, returning from the Third Crusade, was imprisoned after being captured near Vienna by Duke Leopold V of Austria, from December 1192 until his extradition to Emperor Henry VI in March 1193.

In 1645, near the end of the Thirty Years' War, a Swedish contingent under Lennart Torstensson conquered Dürnstein.

Today, the fortress is part of the "Wachau Cultural Landscape" UNESCO World Heritage Site.