Ringwallanlage Förbau

The Ringwallanlage Förbau is a vanished medieval earthwork ringwall near the Förmitz reservoir in Upper Franconia. It sits on a ridge at 560 metres above sea level, where three sides drop steeply and deep ditches with outer ramparts once guarded the approach. A small stream called the Förmitz added a natural barrier in the valley below. Historians link the site to the Hirschberg knights’ two seats in Förbau until the late 14th century, though no written record survives under that name. Karl Dietel argued for the connection, while Hofner doubted it because the ringwall was already out of use by then. Archaeologists from the Langnamenverein confirmed in 1951 that the earthworks date from the Middle Ages, though no stone foundations or tower traces were found. Today the remains consist of grassy ramparts, hollows and ditches running through dense woodland above the reservoir dam. The ridge’s steep slopes make the defences easy to see, while the reservoir below reflects the quiet forest setting. There are no signs marking the spot, so visitors walk along forest paths to reach the earthworks and imagine how the site once protected the border of the Regnitz lands.