Bärnfels Castle
| Bärnfels Castle | |
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| Bärnfels | |
Bärnfels Castle with its bergfried atop the rock pinnacle (August 2009)
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 Bärnfels Castle
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| Coordinates | 49°42′52″N 11°20′37″E / 49.714449°N 11.343712°ECoordinates: 49°42′52″N 11°20′37″E / 49.714449°N 11.343712°E |
| Type | hill castle, spur castle |
| Code | DE-BY |
| Height | 515 m above sea level (NN) |
| Site information | |
| Condition | restored ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built | c. 1330 |
| Materials | rubble stone walls |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Ministeriales |
The ruins of Bärnfels Castle (German: Burg Bärnfels) 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.
The ruins of the castle stand on craggy hill spur at a height of 515 m above sea level (NN), the so-called Bergschmidtsknock, above the eponymous village in the Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park, about 2.2 kilometres north of the church at Obertrubach.
The ruins may be reached from the village of Bärnfels by climbing up a number of steps.
In the vicinity are several other castles. Towards the east are the ruins of Leienfels Castle, to the southeast is the site of Leupoldstein Castle and to the south is another burgstall in Obertrubach. To the north is the still inhabited castle of Gößweinstein.
The first record of the castle is dated 2 August 1389, when its occupants, Conrad Hans and Ulrich of Egloffstein zu Bärenfels had to concede their outer bailey, the so-called Lower Fortress (niedere Veste), as a fief following a feud with the Landgraves of Leuchtenberg. The castle had, however, been built much earlier, probably in 1330 by Siboto I of Egloffstein, progenitor of the Bärenfels line of this family.
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Wikipedia