Bürgle (Kirchen)

The Bürgle stands on a low hill just beyond the south-eastern edge of Kirchen, a district of Ehingen in the Alb-Donau district. Built in the 11th century by the Lords of Kirchen, it appears in records for the first time in 1116. By the 12th century the owners had already left, and the wooden palisades and earth ramparts were abandoned to the fields. All that remains today is the grassy mound that once supported the keep and the inner bailey. A single depression marks where the moat once circled the site, now filled with soil and wild grasses. The absence of stone walls lets the shape of the original motte stand out against the surrounding meadows. Visitors walk a quiet farm track from the village up to the mound. From the top there are wide views over the Danube valley and the wooded hills of the Swabian Alb. The site is quiet, with only the sound of skylarks and the occasional tractor breaking the silence.