Wachturm

Burg Kasendorf stands on the 498-metre Turmberg above the market town of Kasendorf in Upper Franconia. The hilltop rises 110 metres above the valley floor and carries the remains of a former signal tower called the Magnusturm. The plateau covers 14.5 hectares and was once encircled by three lines of prehistoric walls, traces of which survive from the 5th century BC. Near the south-west edge a stone gateway from the 8th or 9th century and a cellar room can still be seen. A small chapel built in 1445 once stood in the northern part of the site. The medieval castle itself was probably built between the 11th and 12th centuries, though no records survive of its history. After it was demolished, builders reused the round keep’s foundations in 1498 to erect the present Magnusturm. This sturdy tower stands 20 metres high, has a 40-metre circumference and walls 3.8 metres thick. A spiral metal staircase inside leads up to a glass-roofed viewing platform. Informative panels around the site and beside the tower explain what once stood there. Visitors climb the Wendeltreppe inside the tower to reach the platform. From this vantage point the view stretches across Kasendorf to the valley of the Main and the Plassenburg at Kulmbach. The high plateau of the Franconian Switzerland can also be seen. The remains of the old fortifications, the gateway and the chapel foundations lie scattered across the grassy summit, marking the site’s long past.