Burgstall Hoheneck

The Burgstall Hoheneck stands on a 665-metre ridge above the Isar valley, 175 metres north-north-east of the Peterbauer farm. It overlooks the Tölzer Isar reservoir near Oberfischbach in Wackersberg. This vanished medieval tower castle once belonged to the Hohenburg family, who took their name from the site. The remains are protected as a scheduled monument in the Bavarian archaeological record. Historians like Stephan Bammer trace its first mention to about 1155. By 1172 a member of the family, Rickher von Hoheneck, had joined Henry the Lion’s crusade and probably died on campaign. The monastery of Tegernsee acquired the castle in 1257, yet it was abandoned before the 14th century and recorded as a Burgstall in 1394. Later it passed through the hands of the Pienzenau and Hörwart families until only earthworks and place-names remained. Today the site shows concentric ditches and ramparts up to six metres deep on every side. A low rectangular mound, roughly twelve by fourteen metres, marks the former keep. The names Bürg, Burgstein and Hoheneck still recall its vanished walls. A local legend tells of two sisters whose quarrel ended in fire, yet the ruins speak more plainly of medieval power and its swift departure.