Lauksburg, Medieval castle ruins in Lorch, Germany

Lauksburg is a castle ruin in Lorch with stone remains rising up to 10 meters high and containing a three-story residential tower measuring roughly 7.5 by 6 meters. The structure sits at about 200 meters elevation and preserves the typical features of a medieval fortification.

The Archdiocese of Mainz granted the castle to Kuno von Scharfenstein and Adam von Allendorf in 1424, marking the beginning of ecclesiastical control over the site. This transfer demonstrates how religious powers wielded influence in the region.

The name likely derives from the nearby Laukenmühle mill below the ruin, which the small castle probably served to protect. In 1424 Archbishop Konrad III of Mainz enfeoffed the site to Kuno von Scharfenstein and Adam von Allendorf for their lifetimes; from 1508 Philipp von Heuchlingen lived there until his death in 1557.

The ruin is currently not accessible to the public due to significant structural damage and collapse risk and is controlled by private owners. It is therefore not possible to enter the interior or get a close look at the stone structures.

The castle is almost 30 metres long and 15 metres wide, but its only standing structure is the roughly 10-metre-high ruin of a three-storey residential tower with a footprint of 7.5 by 6 metres. Only small remnants of the ring wall survive. Because the site is barely elevated, it probably served mainly to protect the Lauksmühle mill below rather than as a strong fortress.