Burghausen

Around 1230 Emperor Conrad II ("Conrad the Elder") appointed the Counts of Burghausen as the financial administrators of the locality. This was an important place as the Salzach river was one of the important transport routes. All boats had to stop here and - pay the toll.

Another source of income was the trade-in salt from Hallein, in modern-day Austria. The salt was brought ashore in Burghausen and transported further overland.

The House of Wittelsbach took possession of the castle in 1180 and the surrounding valley settlements in 1229. In 1307, the pre-existing local law was codified as municipal law, and in the first half of the 14th century, Emperor Louis IV granted the town further privileges.

Under the last three Lower Bavarian dukes, Henry XVI the Rich (1393–1450), Louis IX the Rich (1450–1479) and George the Rich, (1479–1503), Burghausen experienced an expansion and golden age as the second capital of the duchy Bavaria-Landshut.

The still existing Burghausen Castle rests over the town along a ridgeline and is the longest castle in the world (1,043 m).