Alter Ringelstein

The Alte Ringelstein stands on the south-west slope of the Kissel mountain, 430 metres above the Saargrund valley in the Thüringer Wald. It was one of two small medieval spur castles built in the 12th century to watch the old Nuremberg road and the Sallmannshäuser Rennsteig. The other, the Neue Ringelstein, stood a short distance away near the village of Waldfisch. The castle belonged to the counts of Frankenstein in the 14th century and became notorious as a robber-baron stronghold. In 1333 Erfurt’s militia, backed by King John of Bohemia, stormed the place and tore it down. Later the site marked the border between the duchies of Saxe-Eisenach and Saxe-Meiningen until the 19th century. Today the ruined walls have vanished, but deep ditches still cut across the spur’s western flank. Inside the enclosure uneven ground shows where timber buildings once stood. The steep sides of the Kissel give the spot a quiet, wooded outlook over the valley.