Kemenate Ziegenrück, Medieval castle ruins in Ziegenrück, Germany
Kemenate Ziegenrück is a rectangular castle structure in Ziegenrück with four stories and walls roughly 1.8 meters thick. Vaulted cellars sit beneath its 17 by 13 meter foundation and connect to surrounding gardens and earthworks that define the site's layout.
First documented in 1222, the structure served as a strategic checkpoint over the Saale River crossing and protected movement along an important regional trade route. An earlier round tower with a 10-meter diameter once stood on the site before its demolition in 1775, with its foundation outline remaining visible today.
The residential tower displays 15th-century building techniques with asymmetrically placed windows and arrow slits tucked under the roof. These architectural choices tell the story of a time when such structures watched over river traffic and defended travelers on important trade paths.
The ruins are private property and not open to visitors, but can be viewed from several walking paths in the surrounding Saale Valley. The site is easily reachable on foot, and the surrounding landscape offers pleasant views of the river and nearby hills.
An earlier round tower measuring 10 meters across once defined the site until its demolition in 1775 led to the construction of the rectangular structure. Visitors can still trace the old tower's foundation outline on the ground and understand how the fortress evolved across the centuries.
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