Burg Altmannstein: A Medieval Hilltop Castle Ruin in Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page10 sections
History
Burg Altmannstein is a medieval hilltop castle ruin in Germany, built on a projecting spur northeast of Altmannstein in Upper Bavaria’s Eichstätt district. The fortress stood at 435 metres above sea level and was held by free nobles. Its recorded history begins with the Lords of Stein, who ruled the then-unnamed locality in 1120.
The Lords of Stein and the Abensberg succession
The line of the Lords of Stein ended in 1232. Their relative, Altmann II of Abensberg, then acquired Altmannstein and had the castle built. The settlement and fortress took their name from this succession, establishing the Abensberg connection that shaped the site’s later history.
Bavarian and Abensberg ownership
In 1291, Duke Ludwig the Strict of Bavaria acquired the castle from Ulrich II. It was sold again in 1340, passing to Konrad and Heinrich of Hautzendorf. The Counts of Abensberg obtained the right to pledge the castle in 1374, bringing it back into their possession.
Capture and destruction
Nuremberg troops captured Burg Altmannstein in 1446. Johann of Abensberg, its lord at the time, maintained connections with robber knights, and men associated with them were also present in the fortress. In 1485, Niklas of Abensberg and Altmannstein, known as the last Babone, was attacked by Duke Christoph. Seitz of Frauenberg killed him. The Babones were a medieval noble family associated with Abensberg, and Niklas’s designation identified him as the last member of that family line.
Later use and protection
Part of the destroyed castle area was occupied in 1911 by a residential building and ancillary structures. The municipality of Altmannstein has owned the castle since 1991. Burg Altmannstein is protected as an architectural monument of Altmannstein and as a medieval castle archaeological monument.
Remains
The castle occupied a projecting hill spur northeast of Altmannstein. A cross-ditch, a defensive ditch cut across the approach, protected the complex on its landward side. The surviving remains include the principal tower, fragments of the residential building, sections of the castle walls, and a late-medieval prison tower linked with the town’s fortifications.
Castle defenses
The bergfried
The principal surviving structure is a three-storey bergfried, the main fortified tower of a medieval German castle. It rises 18 metres and has a diameter of 10.2 metres, with walls 3.5 metres thick. Its entrance is elevated 4.3 metres above ground level, a defensive arrangement that required access above the surrounding terrain. The tower remains standing within the castle ruin.
The prison tower and connecting wall
The late-medieval Hungerturm, or prison tower, formed part of the defensive system linking the castle and town. A partly preserved Schenkelmauer, meaning a wing or connecting wall, extended from the fortification to the town defenses. This surviving wall preserves part of the former connection between the castle and the fortified settlement.
Residential and wall remains
Only slight remains of the castle’s residential building survive, together with sections of the enclosing walls. A residential building and ancillary buildings erected in 1911 now occupy part of the area where the destroyed castle once stood, while the surviving medieval elements remain preserved as a ruin.
