Another quick report from Beyond the Blue Book.
Depending on what source you read, Burghausen has either Europe's largest or longest castle, sitting atop a bluff overlooking the Salzach river on the Austrian border. With that description, how could you not give it a look?
Arriving in town, it didn't look promising at first. Both by car and by rail, you come upon a relatively unremarkable modern town, with no line of site to the castle. But go a little further. Walk straight, and the town narrows into a small point atop the hill. Only as you walk further do you realize that you've entered the back opening of the castle. Walk to the left along the road downhill, and you come upon the impressive lower town/Altstadt.
OK, the castle. It's more like a long narrow walled village than a distinct castle. At the point of the bluff overlooking the river, the structure comes together as something more resembling a unitary stronghold. Except for this portion, you can't really tour any of the individual buildings. Most are private residences or some kind of artisan studio. They offer guided tours of the entire complex, but only in German. The stronghold hasn't served as a residence for centuries, so the interior is kind of bare. You have to use your imagination a little.
The Altstadt isn't very big, but quite attractive. It has that same Baroque look that you find throughout southern Bavaria and Austria- thick stone walls with brightly painted facades. It mostly occupies the lower ground on the river side of the castle. On the other side is a lake that provides recreational swimming in the summer. As it was quite warm on the day I visited, there was a crowd of people enjoying the cool water.
Overall, Burghausen is rather nice, but for most travelers, it would probably take longer to get there than to explore. It's not particularly close to any other tourist attractions except for perhaps Marktl (if you're a fan of the last pope, his birthplace) or a certain town made infamous by it's most well known hometown boy, Braunau am Inn. Maybe consider it if you have extra time in Salzburg or if you have a day to kill before flying out of Munich's airport.