Burgstall Frickingen

The Burgstall Frickingen is the remains of a rock castle on a lone crag 610 metres above sea level. It stands above the hamlet of Birkenweiler, which belongs to Frickingen in the Bodenseekreis. The site lies west of the village on a small outcrop called the Burgstall. The castle first appears in a 1094 deed when Count Burchard of Frickingen granted land to Allerheiligen Abbey in Schaffhausen. In 1235 Adelheid of Justingen handed the fortress, its church and the local vogt’s rights to the Bishop of Constance. Local tradition says Konrad of Homburg destroyed the castle in 1356, though the Schwedenschanze two and a half kilometres north may have been its predecessor. Visitors reach the site along a short footpath from Birkenweiler. The summit offers wide views over the surrounding countryside. Stone footings and a few low walls mark where buildings once stood. The crag itself is a striking natural feature. The place is quiet, with few visitors, and gives a sense of the castle’s former strength.