Burg Liebeneck

Burg Liebeneck stands on a small terrace on the south-east slope of the Pfaffenberg, above the Schwarzach valley in Mittelfranken. The hill rises steeply from the valleys of the Schwarzach and Heimbach, giving the site a commanding view. A 3-metre-deep neck ditch with an outer rampart once protected the approach. The main structure was a single residential tower surrounded by a trapezium-shaped curtain wall. By the early 20th century the wall still reached 8 metres high in places, though only fragments remain today. The castle was built by the Absberg family, first mentioned in 1346 when Gottfried von Absberg called himself ‘ze Liebenekke’. After disputes with the Pfalzgrafen and the monastery of Seligenporten, the fortress changed hands several times in the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1570 it passed to the Hochstift Eichstätt and served as the residence of a bishop’s forester before falling into ruin. In 1727 two devotional images were moved from the castle to Mettendorf church, sparking new pilgrimages. Visitors today find a quiet hillside clearing marked by low stone foundations and the deep neck ditch. The site measures roughly fifty metres by thirty metres, with the faint outline of the tower still visible. The surrounding Pfaffenberg slopes drop sharply into the Schwarzach valley, offering long views across the Franconian countryside. Nearby lie the ruins of Rumburg, Rundeck and Brunneck, each with its own story of medieval lords and later decay. The path up from Mettendorf follows the old ridge, passing through beech woods before reaching the terrace where Liebeneck once stood.