Laichstätt Castle

The Turmhügel Laichstätt is a vanished medieval motte beside the Regen, on the northern edge of Laichstätt, a district of Cham in the Upper Palatinate. It was built in the 12th century as a small tower on an earthen mound, probably for a local ministerial family. The site appears in the Bavarian Atlas as a protected archaeological monument under the code D-3-6741-0068. The motte’s remains still show a low, circular mound about 14 metres wide at its base and only 6 metres at the top. Its height is now between 1.1 and 1.7 metres, so little more than a gentle rise in the ground. The name ‘beim Wachgraben’ points to its later use as a watch post through the late Middle Ages. Archaeologists recognise it as a classic example of a small medieval tower site. Visitors today find a quiet grassy knoll beside the river, with no visible stonework left above ground. The mound is surrounded by farmland and the occasional riverside path, giving a sense of how the original tower once stood above the valley. The site is marked on local walking maps, making it easy to locate without any modern structures nearby.