Burgstall Schwarzenfels

The Burgstall Schwarzenfels stands on a rocky outcrop 404 metres above sea level, 1,050 metres east-south-east of Bergmatting in Sinzing. It was a spur castle built between 1240 and 1243 by Duke Otto II of Bavaria. The site covers 80 by 39 metres and is now registered as a medieval archaeological monument. The castle was abandoned in 1245 after complaints from Prüfening Abbey and dismantled in the mid-15th century. Little reliable information survives about its life or layout. Today only uneven ground marks where walls once stood. Visitors walk across grassy mounds and shallow depressions that outline the former walls. There are no standing buildings, but the rocky crest offers wide views over the surrounding countryside. The place is quiet, with only the wind and birds breaking the silence.