Poppberg Castle Ruins

It's easy to lose track of time here. A very well-preserved ruin with a magical feel.

The castle ruin is well preserved, with good shoes and sticks you can walk around the whole area. The Poppberg is the highest peak in the old Sulzbacher district

Poppberg Castle RuinsIt is difficult to determine from the sources when the castle was built. It is particularly unclear whether the mentioned castles and lords of the "Puchberg," "Puckberg," or "Pocksberg" are identical with the Poppbergs. A coat of arms of the "Pocksberg" appears in the Kastl monastery church in the row of founders' coats of arms on the south side of the nave.It can be assumed that the castle was founded to control the "high road" from Prague to Nuremberg, perhaps even under the Counts of Sulzbach, who ruled until 1188. In any case, the village of Poppberg is mentioned as belonging to the Fürnried parish as early as 1139. However, the castle's existing buildings show no signs of such an early foundation; they are more consistent with the period after 1300, when tower-like residential buildings became fashionable.
The first truly confirmed reference to the castle appears in 1373, when the so-called New Bohemian Lands of Emperor Charles IV passed into the hands of the Bavarian duke. Poppberg was part of this Bohemian territory on Upper Palatinate soil, founded by Charles in 1353, but dissolved after his death.
The Bavarian dukes pawned the castle to their Palatinate relatives in 1395, but redeemed the pledge in 1451. What seems odd is that two years later the castle is described as "deserted and desolate," meaning it was already abandoned. In 1505, after the Landshut War of Succession, Poppberg passed to the Duchy of Palatinate-Sulzbach, and in 1791 to Bavaria, but remained abandoned and fell into disrepair until the present day.The entrance to the castle is protected by a narrow tower on a pointed rock formation that forms the highest point of the castle. The upper part of the tower is occupied by a recently built, concreted shelter, which served as an air observation post during World War II.A circular wall adjoins the rock formation, forming a clearly visible edge of the terrain and extending extensively around the entire area. Traces of soil near the entrance suggest several utility buildings.The most impressive part of Poppberg is the residential building, a typical late medieval mixture of residential tower and palace dating from after 1300. The lower floor of the building probably served as a pantry and kitchen. The second floor is much more residential, with larger windows and two large entrances leading to the former battlements on either side. A third floor is suspected.Source: burgenseite.de