The ruins are a spectacular hilltop castle and are the centre of an impressive fortress ensemble. The castle was once considered insurmountable and was an important customs station between northern and southern trade routes. With the fortifications around the castle, the Klause is one of the oldest and most important fortifications in the northern Tyrolean Alpine foothills.
Story
The castle was probably built around 1290, probably because the Tyrolean count handed over his existing Falkenstein Castle to the Bishop of Augsburg. Over the next two hundred years, ownership changed frequently through pawning. The castle was very popular as pawn because it could generate high customs revenues.
Foreign rulers took the castle twice: the troops of the Schmalkaldic League in 1546 and Moritz of Saxony in 1552. Both managed to penetrate through the unfortified Falkenberg. After the fortifications were strengthened during the Thirty Years' War, the castle could no longer be taken by 6,000 soldiers under the command of Duke Bernhard of Weimar.
It was not until the War of the Spanish Succession in 1703 that the Bavarian Elector managed to conquer the castle for a short time, before it was recaptured by the Austrians. The Tyrolean fortresses were then abandoned at the end of the century and later used as a quarry.
The Castle Ghost
In the old days, a ghost in the shape of a poodle used to frighten people in Ehenbichl. Sometimes it was red, sometimes black and had fiery eyes, almost as big as a mill wheel. Once it stole a side of bacon from Riefe-Peter's smokehouse and ran off with it, the farmer following behind with a stick. The hunt went into the forest to the bottom of the castle hill. There the poodle suddenly disappeared and Peter stood in front of a crevice in the rock. In the background of the mysteriously lit ravine, the breathless victim saw the ghost dog crouching on a box with a key in its mouth. But he didn't dare go any further and turned back, full of fear.
If the farmer had gone into the gap and snatched the key from the animal, he would have freed the ghost and become a made man. The chest was full of money. During his lifetime, the poodle had been a gatekeeper at Ehrenberg Castle, who stole from the fortress's chests and boxes like a magpie. As punishment, he had to haunt the castle as a dog after his death and guard the stolen goods until someone brave enough to rescue him. But Riefe Peter did not dare, and so the enchanted gatekeeper is still sitting on his treasures today.
Access
The castle can be reached on foot or by funicular. We also recommend walking across the nearby bridge.
