Hohenfreyberg Castle, Medieval castle ruins in Eisenberg, Germany.
Hohenfreyberg Castle is a medieval ruin set on a rocky ridge in Eisenberg, Bavaria, at roughly 3,415 feet (1,040 m) above sea level. The site forms a pair with the neighboring Eisenberg Castle, and the remaining stonework still shows the original layout of the fortification.
Friedrich von Freyberg had the castle built between 1418 and 1432 to control a border area of that time. In 1646 the Tyrolean government ordered it set on fire to keep Swedish forces from using it during the Thirty Years War.
The castle's name comes from the Freyberg family seat at Eisenberg; Friedrich von Freyberg built Hohenfreyberg from 1418 as a deliberate copy of an older high-medieval hilltop castle, complete with a bergfried-like main tower and two palases. Since 2004 information boards and two educational displays inside the ruins explain the site to visitors.
The path to the ruins starts near the Burgenmuseum in Eisenberg, which also covers the history of both castles and makes a good starting point for a visit. The trail runs over rocky ground, so sturdy shoes are a good idea.
The castle was burned on purpose in 1646 even though Swedish troops never actually reached the site. This makes it one of the few examples of a fortification destroyed as a precaution rather than in battle, which surprises most visitors when they learn it.
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