Burg Bickesohl

Burg Bickensohl was a medieval spur castle on a small rocky outcrop 265 metres above sea level. It stood about 80 metres south-west of Bickensohl’s town hall and roughly 100 metres south-west of the village church. The site lies in the Kaiserstuhl hills within the Vogtsburg district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald. All visible traces of the fortress have vanished over the centuries. Archaeologists recognise it today only by the shape of the spur and scattered finds. Historians Alfons Zettler and Thomas Zotz list the site in their survey of medieval castles in the Breisgau region. Their 2003 study places Bickensohl among the smaller fortifications of the northern Kaiserstuhl. Written records from the Middle Ages mention the castle only briefly, confirming its existence but giving no details of its appearance or history. Visitors walk up the gentle slope of the spur to stand where the walls once rose. The view across the surrounding vineyards and the Rhine valley opens to the west. Nearby, the church and old village centre recall the settlement that grew up beside the fortress. The site is quiet, marked only by an information board and the slight earthworks that outline the vanished stronghold.