Burgstall Torfelsen, building in Kinding, Upper Bavaria, Germany

Burgstall Torfelsen is a former spur castle at 486 m above sea level on the Altmühl valley plateau above Unteremmendorf, a district of Kinding in Bavaria. The site is reached through a natural rock gate about 5 m wide, 30 m long and 8 m high, formed by a cave collapse, which crosses the preserved neck ditch. Two small karst caves, the Eastern and Western Schneiderloch, were included in the castle complex.

Burgstall Torfelsen is a vanished spur castle at 486 m above sea level on the Altmühl valley plateau above Unteremmendorf, now in the municipality of Kinding. It was probably built by the Emmendorfer family, ministerials of the Bishopric of Eichstätt first documented in 1119 with Konrad von Emmendorf. About 1,000 m west lies Burgstall Hubertusfelsen and 200 m east Burgstall Saufelsen, likely castles of the same noble family. The site is protected as Bodendenkmal D-1-7034-0120.

The name Burgstall is the German term for a site where a castle once stood but no longer survives above ground. The three sites around Unteremmendorf — Torfelsen, Saufelsen 200 metres east and Hubertusfelsen about 1,000 metres west — are thought to have belonged to the same noble family, the Emmendorfer, ministerials of the Bishopric of Eichstätt first recorded in 1119 with Konrad von Emmendorf.

The ruins are accessible via a marked trail from the nearby village of Unteremmendorf, which runs along the scenic rocky landscape and is part of the Altmühltal-Panoramaweg hiking route. It is wise to bring water or a small snack, as there are no shops or cafes directly at the site.

The rock gate itself is a geotope, 5 metres wide, 30 metres long and 8 metres high, formed when a cave collapsed; the Bavarian Environment Agency lists it as 176R018 and the Franconian Jura cave register as I 5c. Two small karst caves belonged to the castle: the Eastern Schneiderloch (I 5a), reached by an iron ladder, and the Western Schneiderloch (I 5b), entered at ground level.