Burgstall Schrotzhofen

Burgstall Schrotzhofen stands in the centre of Schrotzhofen, a village that belongs to the market town of Beratzhausen in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria. The site is marked as a medieval earthwork castle listed under the Bavarian monument register. A Catholic church, St Helena’s, occupies the highest point of the former stronghold. The church is thought to occupy the footprint of the old castle chapel. No reliable records survive about the castle’s construction or its exact layout. The castle’s known owners include the lords of Schrotzhofen and the Stauff family of Ehrenfels. These noble families held the land in the Middle Ages. Their names appear in local chronicles of the 12th and 13th centuries. The site’s earthworks and the church together form a single protected monument. Visitors find a quiet village square with the church at its heart. The building’s simple stone walls and small bell tower date from later centuries. The surrounding farmland and gentle hills give a sense of the countryside the castle once overlooked. A low mound behind the church shows where the main tower once rose. The whole place offers a glimpse of medieval life without the crowds of larger ruins.