From Salzburg to Schloss Adler

The story of Where Eagles Dare unfolds against snowbound peaks and stone fortresses, and its production demanded the same.
In early 1968, the cast and crew arrived in Salzburg, Austria, to begin filming what would become one of the most logistically complex location shoots of the decade.

Their base was the elegant city’s Hotel Bristol, but the key location lay twenty-five miles south in the valley of Werfen: the medieval fortress Hohenwerfen, standing high above the Salzach River.

Completed in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg, Hohenwerfen was steeped in history—a prison, a garrison, even a Nazi training school during the 1930s.

For Where Eagles Dare, it became the menacing “Schloss Adler,” the German command post perched on an impossible cliff.
The castle’s isolated grandeur inspired awe, but in truth it was reachable by road; the production added its famous cable cars through a combination of miniatures and matte paintings designed by art director Peter Mullins.

Local newspapers initially panicked, believing the filmmakers planned to blow up their national monument. Producer Elliott Kastner spent hours calming officials, assuring them that only models would explode. The community soon warmed to the project—particularly when they learned that Hollywood money was pouring into local hotels and taverns.

Technically, the Austrian landscapes became another character in the film. Cinematographer Arthur Ibbetson exploited the winter light, turning every frame into silver steel. The combination of authentic Alpine cold and carefully staged action gave Where Eagles Dare its visceral realism.

“There’s no fake snow in those shots,” Ibbetson said. “Everyone’s breath you see is real.”

The unit also filmed in Ebensee, where the real cable cars were located, linking mountain to valley through a 1 500-foot drop.
Here, the German uniforms and swastikas caused unease: the town had once hosted a concentration camp. Director Brian G. Hutton later recalled, “Walking into a bar in those uniforms, even for a minute, could stop all conversation.”Still, the grandeur of Hohenwerfen made the hardship worthwhile.

The castle became a symbol—both a fortress and a stage on which deception and courage played out. Half a century later, visitors still ask local guides where the eagles dared.