Altes Schloss (Drügendorf)

Last updated
Ringwall Altes Schloss
Eggolsheim-Drügendorf-"Schlossberg"
Germany adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ringwall Altes Schloss
Coordinates 49°47′58″N11°07′21″E / 49.799388°N 11.122378°E / 49.799388; 11.122378 Coordinates: 49°47′58″N11°07′21″E / 49.799388°N 11.122378°E / 49.799388; 11.122378
Type ringfort, spur location
Code DE-BY
Height493.4 m above  sea level (NN)
Site information
Condition burgstall , ringfort with outer ditch in places
Site history
Built Early medieval

The small ringwork of the Altes Schloss ("old castle") is all that remains of a, now levelled, early medieval fortification on one of the projecting hill spurs of the Mirsberg Heights (Mirsberger Höhe) on the Lange Meile in the valley of the Eggerbach. The spur is called the Schlossberg ("castle hill"). The old castle site lies at a height of 493.4 m above  sea level (NN) around 935 metres south-southeast of the Roman Catholic parish church of St. Margareta of Drügendorf in the Upper Franconian municipality of Eggolsheim in Bavaria, Germany. No historical or archaeological information about this hillfort exists, and there have been no finds that might be able to be used to date the site. Based on the design of the fortification it has been tentatively dated to the Carolingian-Ottonian period. All that has survived is a ringwork with an outer ditch in places. The fortification is protected today as heritage site number D-4-6132-0125: "Early Medieval Ringwork" (Frühmittelalterliche Ringwallanlage). [1]

Ringwork A form of fortified defensive structure

A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles minus the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the site.

<i>Burgstall</i> German castle site, ruin

A burgstall is a German term referring to a castle of which so little is left that its appearance cannot effectively be reconstructed. It has no direct equivalent in English, but may be loosely translated as "castle site". Variations in the literature include Burgstelle, Altburgstelle, die Burgställe (plural), Burgstähl (archaic) or abgegangene Burg. In German castle studies, a burgstall is a castle that has effectively been levelled, whereas a "ruin" (Ruine) still has recognisable remnants of the original castle above the level of the ground.

Lange Meile plateau in the Franconian Jura in south Germany

The Lange Meile is a plateau in the Franconian Jura in south Germany which is up to about 517 m above sea level (NHN). It lies within the region of Franconian Switzerland in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the state of Bavaria.

Contents

Description

The ringwork is situated on westward pointing hill spur that lies about 180 metres above the valley floor. [2] The oval interior of the fortification, which measures 55 by 35 metres, is enclosed on all sides by a circular rampart. On the steeply falling western and northwestern sides it runs in the shape of an arc. On the eastern and southern sides it is constructed as a sector rampart with three sections. On the eastern side the rampart is still about two metres high and ten metres wide. Inside the circular rampart the remains of a dry stone wall have survived. In front of the gently ascending eastern side a moat was dug as an additional obstacle. The moat peters out at its northern and southern ends at the edges of the hilltop. The old access was on the southwest side of the site; here there is a gap in rampart a few metres wide. [3]

Related Research Articles

Alte Burg (Altenstein) castle

The Alte Burg is an early medieval ringwork between Altenstein and Lichtenstein in the borough of Market Maroldsweisach in the Lower Franconian county of Haßberge in the province of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.

Gelbe Burg castle

The Gelbe Burg, also called the Gelbe Bürg, is the site of a hill castle on the Gelber Berg northeast of the market village of Heidenheim in the Middle Franconian county of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in the German state of Bavaria.

Gößweinstein Castle castle

Gößweinstein Castle, also called Schloss Gößweinstein, is a mediaeval hilltop castle in Gößweinstein in the county of Forchheim in the German state of Bavaria. It towers high above the market town and the River Wiesent and may have been the inspiration for Richard Wagner's grail castle in his opera, Parsifal. The castle is a Bavarian listed building, no. D-4-74-129-10.

Neideck Castle

Neideck Castle is a former high mediaeval nobleman's castle above the village of Streitberg, in the municipality of Wiesenttal in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the German state of Bavaria. As a result of its exposed location above the valley of the Wiesent, it has become a symbol of Franconian Switzerland.

Leienfels Castle castle ruin

Leienfels Castle was a late mediaeval aristocratic castle, immediately northwest of the eponymous village of Leienfels in the region of Franconian Switzerland in Germany. The village belongs to the borough of Pottenstein in the Upper Franconian county of Bayreuth in Bavaria.

Bärnfels Castle castle

The ruins of Bärnfels Castle are the remains of a late mediaeval aristocratic castle on the southern edge of the village of Bärnfels in the municipality of Obertrubach in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in Bavaria. The ruins of the spur castle are freely accessible.

Waischenfeld Castle castle ruin

Waischenfeld Castle is a ruined rock castle on a rocky plateau a few metres west of the town of Waischenfeld in the province of Upper Franconia in the German state of Bavaria.

Rabenstein Castle (Upper Franconia) district and castle in Ahorntal

Rabenstein Castle is a former high medieval aristocratic castle in the municipality of Ahorntal in the Upper Franconian county of Bayreuth in the German state of Bavaria.

Wolfsberg Castle (Obertrubach) castle in Obertrubach

The ruins of Wolfsberg Castle are the remains of a former high mediaeval, aristocratic, castle which stands high above the Trubach valley over the eponymous village of Wolfsberg. The village is part of the municipality of Obertrubach in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the German state of Bavaria.

Egloffstein Castle castle

Egloffstein Castle is a former high mediaeval, aristocratic castle, that stands immediately west of the eponymous village of Egloffstein in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the German state of Bavaria.

Altes Schloss (Affalterthal) castle

The burgstall of the Altes Schloss is the site of an old castle near the village of Affalterthal in Bavaria, that was probably built in the High Middle Ages for the nobility. It lies within the municipality of Egloffstein in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim.

Thuisbrunn Castle castle

Thuisbrunn Castle is located centrally within the parish of Thuisbrunn in the municipality of Gräfenberg in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia. After having been destroyed and rebuilt several times, the castle is now in private ownership.

Schlüsselstein Castle castle

Schlüsselstein Castle was a castle and the seat of a noble family, probably dating to the High Middle Ages, the remains of which lie above the town of Ebermannstadt in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the south German state of Bavaria. The site is known locally as Burgstall Schlüsselstein.

Altenburg (Heroldsbach) former castle in Germany

The Altenburg fortification near Heroldsbach is a levelled early medieval fortified position at a height of 362 m above sea level (NHN), about 850 metres northwest of the church in Heroldsbach in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the south German state of Bavaria. No historical or archaeological information is available for this sector fortification, but pottery finds from the interior of the site date to the Early Middle Ages. All that has survived is a double rampart system with a ditch. The site is protected by the state of Bavaria as monument number D-4-6331-0001: Frühmittelalterliche Abschnittsbefestigung "Altenburg".

Alter Schlossberg (Ebermannstadt)

The burgstall of Alter Schlossberg is the site of an old castle located on a plateau-like hilltop, the so-called Schlossberg, about 500 metres southeast of Burggaillenreuth, a village in the borough of Ebermannstadt in the county of Forchheim in the south German state of Bavaria.

Schießberg Ringwork

The ringwork on the Schießberg is a, now levelled, early medieval hillfort situated at a height of 422 m above sea level (NHN) on the Schießberg, about 1,100 metres northeast of the church of Unterstürmig, a village in the market municipality of Eggolsheim in the county of Forchheim in the south German state of Bavaria.

Schloss Kunreuth château

Schloss Kunreuth is situated on the northwestern edge of the eponymous village of Kunreuth which is part of the collective municipality of Gosberg in the county of Forchheim, in the province of Upper Franconia in the south German state of Bavaria.

Schloss Wiesenthau castle

Schloss Wiesenthau stands on the northeastern edge of the eponymous municipality at the foot of the Ehrenbürg in northern Bavaria. The Renaissance building is a three-winged country house with 4 mid-16th century corner towers and the remains of an enceinte.

Streitburg Castle castle ruin

The ruins of Streitburg Castle (German: Burgruine Streitburg or Streitberg Castle are the remains of a high mediaeval aristocratic castle above the village of Streitberg, in the market borough of Wiesenttal in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the German state of Bavaria. They lie directly opposite the ruins of Neideck Castle, the symbol of Franconian Switzerland, on the other side of the valley.

Rinkenwall castle

The Rinkenwall or Rinkenmauer is a circular rampart fortification at the southeastern tip of the Rinkenkopf mountain above the Murg valley near the village of Baiersbronn in the county of Freudenstadt in the south German state of Baden-Württemberg.

References

  1. ↑ for Eggolsheim at the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Historic Buildings and Monuments (pdf; 161 kB)
  2. ↑ Location of the ringwork at Bayern Atlas
  3. ↑ Source description: Björn-Uwe Abels: Führer zu archäologischen Denkmälern in Bayern, Franken Band 2: Archäologischer Führer Oberfranken, p. 127

Literature

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.