Burg Roggenstein

The Burg Roggenstein stands on a 570-metre rock above the Lower Roggen Mill near Geislingen an der Steige in the Göppingen district. Built between 1150 and 1170 by Konrad von Roggenstein, it was abandoned around 1250. A Konrad Ruggestain appears in Geislingen records in 1281. Today only the neck ditch remains of the former 15-by-30-metre stronghold. Its brief life and early abandonment make it a rare example of a 12th-century hilltop fortress. The single surviving earthwork shows how small but strategic such sites once were. Scholars cite it in guides to Swabian castles and forgotten Alb fortresses. Visitors reach the site along woodland paths that climb to the rock. The grassy clearing holds the shallow ditch cutting off the spur. From the edge there are wide views over the valley and towards the Alb escarpment.