Burgstall Rosall

Burgstall Rosall stands on a spur rising 60 metres above the village of Rosall in the Upper Palatinate. It was built in the 12th century as a motte, a small earthwork castle typical of early medieval colonisation. The site is listed as a medieval archaeological monument in the Bavarian state atlas under the reference D-3-6040-0029. The first written mention of Rosel appears in the Waldsassen monastery’s register at the end of the 14th century. Local records from 1434 and 1593 refer to a small castle, but after the monastery bought the village the structure was abandoned and fell into ruin. Archaeologists rediscovered the site in 1986, revealing a tower mound measuring 15 by 17 metres and rising about two metres above the surrounding spur. A footpath from Rosall leads 600 metres to the remains. On the northern side a five-metre-high rock wall marks the edge of the mound, while to the south a semicircular ditch curves in front of a cluster of rocks. The defences show how the builders used the natural rock outcrop to create a fortified position in the early medieval landscape.