The austrian market town of Mittersill,
located on the upper reaches of the Salzach, is the main community and focal point of the Oberpinzgau region.
In the 12th century, the Pinzgau was still a part of the Duchy of Bavaria, remaining so until the Bavarian dukes granted the Oberpinzgau shire as a feudal fief to the Earls of Lechsgmünd. Prior to 1180, the new rulers had already built Mittersill Castle on the northern slopes of the Salzach Valley, perched above the commercially and strategically important north-south link from Pass Thurn to the Felbertauern.