Leienfels Castle
| Leienfels Castle | |
|---|---|
| Pottenstein-Leienfels | |
Ruins of Leienfels Castle – view of the inner bailey with its entranceway and flanking round tower (April 2011)
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| Coordinates | 49°42′34″N 11°22′11″E / 49.709441°N 11.369734°ECoordinates: 49°42′34″N 11°22′11″E / 49.709441°N 11.369734°E |
| Type | hill castle, spur castle |
| Code | DE-BY |
| Height | 590 m above sea level (NN) |
| Site information | |
| Condition | restored ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built | c. 1300 |
| Materials | rubble stone walls |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | ministeriales |
Leienfels Castle (German: Burgruine Leienfels) was a late mediaeval aristocratic castle, immediately northwest of the eponymous village of Leienfels in the region of Franconian Switzerland in Germany. The village belongs to the borough of Pottenstein in the Upper Franconian county of Bayreuth in Bavaria.
The ruins of the hill castle are freely accessible and act as a viewing point.
The ruins lie within the Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park on the 590-metre-high hill of Leienfelser Schlossberg immediately next to the village of Leienfels, about 4.6 kilometres northwest of the church at Betzenstein.
The castle may be reached from the village of Leienfels by heading in a northwesterly direction. The site of the castle begins at the edge of the village.
In the vicinity, towards the west, lie the ruins of Bärnfels Castle, to the north, on the Bleistein near Graisch, is the site of Leuenstein Castle. To the southeast is the site of Leupoldstein Castle and, to the southwest, in the valley of the Trubach, were other castles, of which ruins or foundations (Burgställe) still exist.
The castle, whose name is probably derived from Löwenfels ("Lion Rock"), is one of the later castles to be built in Franconian Switzerland and may have been erected in the 14th century at the behest of Seibot I of Egloffstein, who is recorded between 1285 and 1332.
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