 First mentioned in a 1053 travelogue, it is situated on a limestone rock high above the "Salurner Klause" bottleneck of the Adige Valley.In 1158 the local Counts of Eppan had two cardinals of the Roman Curia on their way to the court of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa attacked and raided.Frederick's cousin Henry the Lion launched a punitive expedition, whereby the castle was demolished.