Ruine Burgholz

The ruins of Burgholz stand on a 663-metre hilltop 1.15 kilometres south-east of Raitbach, a district of Schopfheim in the Lörrach district. The site occupies the crest of a steep, wooded slope that rises above the Wiesental valley. The remains belong to a once large hilltop castle complex built around the middle of the 13th century. Early records call it Neuenstein, later it became known as Steineck before settling on Burgholz in the 17th century.

The castle passed through the hands of local lords and, in 1400, to Margrave Rudolf III of Hachberg-Sausenberg. By the 16th century it was already a ruin, described as a Burgstadel, and granted to Apollinaris Höcklin. The Höcklins took the name Höcklin von Steineck and gave their name to the site. Today only the mound, scraps of wall and an oval ring ditch with outer rampart survive.

Visitors find a quiet clearing on the hilltop surrounded by beech and spruce. A broad neck ditch, five metres wide and six metres deep, cuts across the northern approach. The steep slopes and lack of any path make the ruin hard to reach. From the roadside near the curve to Hof Blumberg there is only a glimpse of the overgrown mound and crumbling stones.