Burg Kempe, Medieval castle ruins in Mahlitzsch, Germany
Burg Kempe is a castle ruin that sits on a slate cliff directly above the Freiberger Mulde river. The surviving residential tower has three floors and measures roughly 13 by 17 meters, showing the typical scale of a medieval noble residence.
The castle first appeared in written records in 1220 as the ancestral seat of the von Mals family. The family held the property until 1298, after which it changed hands and gradually lost importance over the centuries.
The name Kempe comes from the medieval term Kemenate, which referred to a residential building for nobility. This architectural term appears throughout medieval German construction practices and still shapes how we understand such structures today.
The ruins have been privately owned since 2000 and require advance permission from the owner before visiting. Access is best reached via Zur Kempe street, from where local paths lead up to the ruins.
An underground water system ran beneath the castle, allowing defenders to resist longer during potential sieges. This engineering shows how thoughtfully medieval fortifications were planned to withstand extended attacks.
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