Burgstall Plankenstein (Velburg)

The Burgstall Plankenstein stands on a 588-metre dolomite outcrop above the eastern bank of the Schwarze Laber river, 13 kilometres east of Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate. It was the seat of the Plankenstein family, ministeriales of the Bishop of Regensburg, between 1196 and 1207. After passing to the Ehrenfels family of Helfenberg, the castle was sold in 1374 to Count Palatine Rupert I and later fell into ruin. The site is protected as a scheduled monument and remains freely accessible. A narrow, unsigned forest path leads from Deusmauer village up to the summit, where only earthworks survive. A ring ditch and low outer rampart mark the defences, while the main stronghold occupied a small plateau 40 by 30 metres across. Visitors find sheer rock faces on three sides and steep scree slopes below. Fragments of fallen ashlar lie scattered on the western slope, and a small cave beneath the western wall may once have served as a storeroom. At the southern corner a shallow depression indicates the vanished outer ward, and a sheltered rock overhang nearby offers a sheltered viewpoint over the valley.