Alte Burg Labach

The Alte Burg is a ruined medieval site near Labach in Saarwellingen, Saarland. It sits on a terrace above the Mühlenbach stream on the Hangenhümes ridge, a spur of the Weiherkopf hill. The remains cover about thirty by twenty metres and are defended on the west by a 1.8-metre-deep ditch. A second ditch and a low mound on the north side may still hold wall fragments. No written records survive, so the only clues to its age are broken roof tiles from the 13th or 14th century. The name ‘Alte Burg’ is modern, coined long after the site was abandoned. Archaeologists have found nothing else to date the structure, leaving its history blank beyond these few bricks. Visitors walk a quiet path up from Labach to the ridge top. The ditches and low banks are still visible, marking the outline of the old walls. The stream below and the surrounding farmland give a peaceful setting for imagining the small fortress that once stood here.