Radstadt

Radstadt (Central Bavarian: Rodstoud or Rodstod) is a historic town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian state of Salzburg.

In the south the road runs parallel to the Taurach stream up to Untertauern, the Obertauern ski resort and the Radstädter Tauern Pass at 1,738 metres (5,702 ft), which marks the border with the Salzburg Lungau region.

The fortress of Radstadt was founded in the 13th century, when the Pongau region became part of the Archbishopric of Salzburg and border conflicts arose with the Habsburg dukes of Styria; it received city rights in 1289.

The town served as seat of the local administration and was of significant value for the protection of the Enns Valley and the road crossing the Alpine crest via Radstädter Tauern Pass towards Carinthia and Aquileia.

As in many other Salzburg areas under the rule of Archbishop Leopold Anton von Firmian, the Protestant population was expelled in 1731/32; as Exulanten they were granted asylum by the Prussian king Frederick William I and settled in the Gumbinnen region of East Prussia.

View into the Taurach valley
Styrian Gate and Capuchin Tower
Town hall