Burgruine Kallmünz

The ruins of Kallmünz stand on a rocky spur 433 metres above the meeting point of the Vils and Naab rivers. The spur, called Schlossberg, rises above the market town of Kallmünz in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria. Excavations show traces of settlements from the Stone Age through to the Iron Age. A medieval rampart, known as the Hungarian Wall, was built about the year 900 to protect a refuge for local people during Magyar raids. The castle’s builders remain uncertain, but it guarded a royal toll station recorded in 1230. By 1329 the Wittelsbach family had taken possession, and in 1344 Emperor Louis the Bavarian pledged the fortress to Regensburg. After fires in 1504 and 1641, the site served as a quarry until the community took it over in 1793. Restorations since the late 19th century have stabilised the remains. Visitors today see the tall round bergfried standing 20 metres high with walls nearly 2.3 metres thick. The adjoining palace has coupled round-arched windows and two knight halls, while the chapel survives as a single wall. A late medieval zwinger with its gatehouse leads to the plateau, where grass and wild thyme grow among the stonework. The summit offers wide views over the river valleys below.