Keep (Bergfried) Tower, Marienberg Fortress

The round tower made of quarry stone masonry with a wall thickness of 2.5 m reaches a height of about 40 meters.

According to von Freeden, construction of the tower began as part of the construction of the first castle complex under Konrad von Querfurt, i.e. at the beginning of the 13th century. It was probably only completed under his successors. With the Marienkirche, the keep is one of the oldest preserved parts of the medieval castle. Until the 19th century, the building was called the "Middle Tower" or "Wartturm". The wall of the tower has only a few slits. High up there is a ring of shooting hatches, below which you can still see the corbels that once supported a wooden gallery.

Due to its height and the clear all-round view, the tower served as a watchtower for observing the surrounding area and providing early warning of approaching enemies. The lower floor was used as a dungeon. This did not have an access door like today, but only a so-called "fear hole" measuring 50 x 50 cm in the vaulted ceiling, through which the prisoners were lowered. There is a connecting shaft with the upper room, the use of which is not clear (possibly food was served over it, sufficient ventilation was provided, or it served as a fireplace).

In case of an enemy storming of the fortress, the heavily fortified tower was also the last place of refuge. For this reason, the only entrance was clearly elevated. It was not until around 1600 that the external stair tower to this entrance was made of stone. Further up there were three more floors and finally the watchman's room with a ladder to the windows in the roof beams

wuerzburgwiki.de/wiki/Bergfried

I can only recommend the castle complex.

Keep with a dungeon that can be visited