Bürgle

The Bürgle stands north-east of Heudorf, a district of Scheer in the Sigmaringen district. It is the earthwork remains of a small early to high medieval water castle built on a flat plain near the Heudorfer Bach. The site is marked by a tall, circular mound surrounded by woodland and close to the Dollhofer Weg. Few traces survive of the once circular moat, now filled in, which measured about 125 to 130 metres across. At its centre rises the ten-metre-high motte, seventy to seventy-five metres wide at its base, topped by trees. Around the motte runs a faint ring of outer bailey, itself enclosed by a smoothed rampart. Excavations have uncovered arrows and tools, and fragments of masonry still lie on the summit. The surrounding area is protected as the landscape conservation site ‘Ehemalige Burg bei Heudorf’. The flat fields and nearby stream give a quiet setting for a short walk among the earthworks. Visitors can trace the vanished moat and walk the gentle ramparts before returning along the woodland edge.