Ebermannstadt Castle

Ebermannstadt Castle
Ebermannstadt-"Wacht Knock"
View of the motte
Ebermannstadt Castle is located in Germany
Ebermannstadt Castle
Coordinates49°46′47″N 11°10′06″E / 49.779601°N 11.168220°E / 49.779601; 11.168220
Typehill castle, motte
CodeDE-BY
Height470 m above sea level (NHN)
Site information
Conditionburgstall, motte and ramparts
Site history
Built11th century

Ebermannstadt Castle (German: Burgstall Ebermannstadt) is a levelled medieval motte castle on the heights of the Franconian Jura at Wacht Knock (470 m above sea level (NHN)), west of the town of Ebermannstadt in the county of Forchheim in the south German state of Bavaria. It is one of the mightiest motte and bailey castles.

The fortification dates to the 11th century and was probably a refuge castle. It has an area of about 2.5 hectares and occupies a hill plateau with a diameter of over 30 metres and is surrounded by the bailey which measures 120 by 100 metres. The motte, which has been levelled, is oval in shape and was up to five metres in height. It is surrounded at a distance of 22 metres by a horseshoe-shaped outer rampart.

Literature

  • Hellmut Kunstmann: Die Burgen der südwestlichen Fränkischen Schweiz. Veröffentlichungen der Gesellschaft für Fränkische Geschichte Reihe IX: Darstellungen aus der Fränkischen Geschichte, Vol. 28. 2. Auflage. Kommissionsverlag Degener & Co., Neustadt/Aisch, 1990, pp. 96–97.
  • Denis André Chevalley (revision editor) (1986). "Oberfranken". In Michael Petzet, Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege [in German] (ed.). Denkmäler in Bayern : Ensembles, Baudenkmäler, archäologische Geländedenkmäler [Monuments in Bavaria: ensembles, monuments, archaeological site memorials]. Denkmäler in Bayern [de] (in German). Vol. IV (Various ed.). München: Oldenbourg. ISBN 3-486-52395-3. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  • Klaus Schwarz: Die vor- und frühgeschichtlichen Geländedenkmäler Oberfrankens. (Materialhefte zur bayerischen Vorgeschichte, Series B, Vol. 5). Verlag Michael Lassleben, Kallmünz, 1955, p. 74.