Kufstein

Kufstein stands on the Inn beneath a fortress that guards the route between Bavaria and Tyrol. Recorded as Caofstein around 788, it received town rights in 1393. Its castle and frontier position made it a frequent object of disputes between Bavarian and Tyrolean rulers, while the river supported trade and toll collection. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries boats and wagons made the town an active transit point.

During the Landshut War of Succession, Maximilian I besieged the castle with heavy guns and took it from its Bavarian commander. He strengthened the fortress, and Kufstein became part of Tyrol, although Bavarian law remained in force. In 1703 Bavarian troops captured the town after fire spread to the fortress and its powder stores exploded; they withdrew the following year. Bavaria took Kufstein again in 1805, and its garrison held the fortress during the Tyrolean uprising of 1809. The town returned to Austria in 1814.