Burg Alt-Morungen, Medieval castle ruins in Sangerhausen, Germany

Burg Alt-Morungen is a castle ruin sitting on a rocky ridge near Sangerhausen, with walls and foundation stones still visible from its former structure. The site displays remains of the ring wall, traces of a tower that once stood here, and defensive ditches carved into the rock itself.

Around 1030, Count Goswin the Elder of Leige gave the castle as a dowry to his daughter Sigena upon her marriage to Wiprecht of Balsamgau. Their son Wiprecht of Groitzsch lost Morungen in 1112 to Emperor Henry V, who enfeoffed Count Hoyer of Mansfeld; Wiprecht recovered it after the 1115 Battle of Welfesholz. In 1157 the Groitzsch family sold the lordship to Frederick I. The castle was abandoned around 1200 in favour of Neu-Morungen.

The site carries the name of a noble family whose members once governed this hilltop stronghold. Visitors today see the remains of their stone structures scattered across the rocky ridge.

The site is open to walk around freely and sits on an elevated ridge that requires a short walk from the nearest parking area. Wear sturdy shoes since the path crosses uneven terrain and the ruins themselves rest on rocky ground.

Just below the castle, about 80 metres west by the stream, lies an iron smelting site with heaps of slag; smelting traces run 20 metres north-south in the stream bed, and brown ironstone ore remnants lie at the foot of the slope, with ore mining located roughly 1.5 km north of the castle.