Alte Burg, Medieval castle ruins in Maroldsweisach, Germany

Alte Burg is an early medieval ringwork between Altenstein and Lichtenstein in the market town of Maroldsweisach, on a rocky spur at 405 m above sea level. Its roughly 115 by 150 metre circuit is enclosed by a dry sandstone ashlar wall, largely buried in a rampart up to five metres high, with a five-metre-wide ditch in front. The gate lies in the northwest, where the rampart bends inward in a pincer shape.

The Alte Burg is an early medieval ringwork, dated by its form and dry-stone sandstone wall rather than by documents. It was archaeologically investigated in 1964, and Eugen Ixmeier of the Bavarian State Office for Protected Monuments surveyed it in 1970. In spring 2007 a windthrow and subsequent cleanup damaged its eastern part and caused some loss of exposed wall sections.

The name Alte Burg, "Old Castle", distinguishes the site from the high medieval castles of Altenstein, Lichtenstein, Rotenhan and Teufelsstein on the same ridge. A second earthwork about 150 metres east in the forest also bears the name Alte Burg. The site is a designated geotope, number 674A010, and information boards of the Burgenkundlicher Lehrpfad Hassberge stand here.

The site is easy to reach since the area is well marked and several walking paths lead to the grounds. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes since the pathways between the stones and across the plateau can be uneven.

The sandstone outcrop beneath the rampart is listed by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment as geotope 674A010. Because the rock is sliding downhill over underlying clay and clay marl of the Feuerletten, restoration work aims to slow the decay of the ruins. Information boards of the Hassberge Castle Trail stand at the site.