Burgstall Turnertobl

The Burgstall Turnertobl stands on a hill called Turnertobl near Neumarkt in the Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria. It lies about one kilometre north-west of the village centre, between farmsteads named Turner and Ebersteiner. The site is reached by following an old salt route between Kefermarkt and Neumarkt until the saddle between Steiningerberg and Turnertobl, then turning west. In summer the path is almost covered by dense undergrowth. The ruins belong to a small, unfinished fortification from the 12th or 13th century. Excavations revealed a square stone foundation twelve metres on each side, probably for a wooden tower. A second, smaller stronghold sits on a rocky spur forty metres away, with walls up to two metres high and traces of a fire that once destroyed it. Pottery and iron objects from the site are kept in the Upper Austrian State Museum. Visitors find two separate enclosures on the hilltop. The main one has a half-circular ditch and an outer rampart, while the spur holds the remains of a rectangular tower with double-shelled masonry. Both areas are now thickly overgrown, and parts have been damaged by recent forest tracks. The hill commands wide views over the surrounding farmland and woods.