Burgstall Eselsburg (Endorf)

The Eselsburg is a vanished hilltop fort on a rocky spur 450 metres above sea level, 1.6 kilometres south-west of Endorf in the Upper Palatinate. Built by Celts in the first century BC, it was reused in the ninth or tenth century and finally destroyed in the twelfth. The site is listed as a Bavarian archaeological monument and shows traces of a ditch, an outer rampart and the base of a round tower. Its long history links Iron Age settlers to early medieval warriors, making it a rare place where two cultures left their mark. Andreas Boos, an expert on regional castles, describes the surviving earthworks and foundations in his study of early and high medieval fortifications. The surviving walls and ditches give a clear picture of how the fort once defended its hilltop position. Visitors walk among grassy lumps and hollows where the ramparts once stood. A low circular rise marks the spot of the round tower, while the outer ditch runs like a shallow scar across the slope. From the spur there are wide views over the surrounding farmland and wooded ridges, the same landscape that once framed the Celts’ stronghold. The quiet hilltop offers a chance to stand where Iron Age people looked out over the same horizon.