Burgrest Falkenstein

Burg Falkenhalden stands on a spur called Schlossbühl, 630 metres above sea level, above the farm of Falkenhalden near Homberg in Deggenhausertal. The site belongs to the Bodenseekreis in Baden-Württemberg. Only the earthworks remain: three ditches, ramparts and a low mound. The whole ruin is one of the largest castle sites in the district. Archaeologists found Bronze-Age pottery in the south-western ditch, showing the spur was used in the Metal Ages. A deep round pit in the inner ward produced late medieval shards dated 2004. In 1171 Abt Diethelm of Reichenau mentioned half a farm at ‘Ualchinstein’ in a land swap. The Falkenstein family, ministerial lords, appear in records from 1213 until 1294, but they probably only occupied part of the castle rather than building it. Visitors walk a forest path that cuts through the main ditch on the north-east side. A thirty-metre-long plateau marks the outer ward, ending in a five-metre drop to another ditch. The inner ward is a hundred-metre-long shelf with a two-metre-deep round hollow and a rectangular pit at the far end. A twelve-metre slope leads down to a further ditch and rampart, while the narrow spur itself still carries traces of the old palisade line.