Burgruine, Castle ruin in Weißdorf, Germany

Burgruine Uprode, also called Schloss Uprode, is a ruined hilltop castle at 603.6 m above sea level above the village of Oppenroth in the municipality of Weißdorf. What remains are wall remnants, foundations, ditch systems and scattered pieces of the blown-up bergfried, all set in forest.

Uprode was built around 1320 by the Knights of Sparneck to secure their ancestral lands. It was first documented in 1373, sold to the Burgraves of Nuremberg, and later passed to the Lords of Lüchau. The Sparnecks regained it in 1494, but on 11 July 1523 the Swabian League destroyed it as a base of the robber baron Thomas von Absberg. It has been a ruin ever since.

The castle gave its name to Uprode and was held by the Sparneck family, who sold it to the Burgraves of Nuremberg; Heinrich von Kotzau appears among the witnesses. In 1494 the Sparnecks got it back, and the woodcut by Hans Wandereisen shows the tower already in flames while a cart marked "Bulfer" (powder) waits on the approach road.

The site is reached via walking paths and sturdy footwear is essential due to uneven terrain and potential slippery surfaces. Visiting during dry conditions ensures safer exploration of the grounds and better views of the remaining structures.

The 1816 map by cartographer Johann Christoph Stierlein recorded the castle's surviving remains with precision, and it remains a key reference for the site. Scattered pieces of the blown-up bergfried can still be spotted among the trees, and no excavations or consolidation work have ever been carried out.