Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Huts

Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin

Huts

Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin

Highlight • Historical Site

Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin

Recommended by 144 hikers out of 149

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Volkenberg

Save

Location: Leinach, Landkreis Würzburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

Save

See hikes here

Take Me There

Routes here

Best Hikes to Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin

4.8

(72)

290

hikers

1. Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin – Volkenberg Black Pine Forest loop from Erlabrunn

8.66km

02:22

130m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

4.8

(15)

hikers

2. Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin – View of the Erlabrunn Lock loop from Erlabrunn

13.1km

03:41

270m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

4.4

(7)

hikers

3. Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin loop from Zellingen

10.5km

02:55

190m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

Tips

Matt

February 16, 2020

Historically interesting place, unfortunately nowadays without the distant view, because of which the tower was built earlier. There is also a shelter and plenty of seating, someone has thought along and hung up a trash can! There is also a brick grill.

Translated by Google •

Lars

July 11, 2024

The Wartturm, also known as "Erlabrunner Wartturm," is a historic watchtower near Erlabrunn in Lower Franconia, Bavaria. This tower has a rich history and today offers both historical and tourist attractions.

Translated by Google •

MS 🚴‍♂️

May 11, 2025

History
The age of the round tower remnant between the Espenloh to the south and Eschberg to the north is dated to the 15th century in the list of protected monuments. In the last third of the 15th century, the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Rudolf von Scherenberg, had land defenses (consisting of ramparts, ditches, and thorn hedges) and land towers built to protect against enemy invasions. The "Lion Tower," which already existed at that time, may have been incorporated into this land defense as a "watchtower."

The oldest pictorial representation of the watchtower exists in a rent and interest book of the Ebrach Monastery. From 1370 onward, the monastery owned a farm belonging to the Lower Leinach knightly family of the Hotzen von Leinach (heraldic animal of a rising lion) as a fief. The watchtower was also called the "Lion Tower" until 1900. Based on this old depiction, the watchtower could be the remains of a former small castle complex.

Significance
The watchtower served to observe the Zellingen-Retzbach ford and the old pilgrimage and trade route from Italy to Fulda, which ran through Leinach. From here, fire signals could be used to warn the settlements in the Leinacher Bach valley of approaching enemies, and it probably also provided visual contact with Ravensburg and Falkenburg.

Source: wuerzburgwiki.de/wiki/Wartturmruine_Leinach

Translated by Google •

Details

Informations

Elevation 320 m

Weather

Today

Saturday 25 October

11°C

6°C

100 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 22.0 km/h

Most visited during

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See hikes here

Take Me There

Location: Leinach, Landkreis Würzburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

Other Popular Places to Check Out

Erlabrunner Käppele (Maria Hilf) and View of the Main Valley

Volkenberg Black Pine Forest

Terroir f Thüngersheim – Ariadne, Dionysos, and Oenopion Sculptures

Pavilion of the Feldgeschworene Memorial

Trail With View of the Main Valley

View of the Main Valley from Erlabrunner Käppele

Erlabrunn Vineyards

Rotes Loch Wayside Shrine (Erlabrunn)

Huber Trail

Wartturm Above Leinach

View of the Main Valley Near Thüngersheim

View of Thüngersheim

Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin

1. Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin – Volkenberg Black Pine Forest loop from Erlabrunn

2. Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin – View of the Erlabrunn Lock loop from Erlabrunn

3. Erlabrunner Watchtower Ruin loop from Zellingen

Other Popular Places to Check Out

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️