Burg Ramspau

The ruins of Ramspau stand on a narrow ridge 400 metres above sea level west of the village church. A steep ditch cuts the plateau from the main hill, making the little fortress hard to defend. The site is listed both as a protected building and as an archaeological monument. The castle probably began before the 13th century, perhaps by local nobles or by the Wittelsbach dukes. The first written mention comes in 1312 when a knight called Weichser de Ranspaur appears in a charter. Members of the same family later served as ducal keepers in Kelheim and Falkenstein. By 1428 the chronicler Andreas von Regensburg recorded Ludwig Chamerauer as owner. After changing hands several times in the 15th and 16th centuries the stones were taken to build the nearby baroque Schloss Ramspau in 1706. Visitors still see the five-sided keep with walls 1.5 metres thick and an outward-slanting arrow slit. Open cellar vaults of rough stone mark where earlier buildings stood. A small outer ward once guarded the entrance path. The whole plateau is now a protected archaeological site.