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Unterau Castle Ruins

Castles

Unterau Castle Ruins

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Unterau Castle Ruins

Name: Unterau Castle Ruins
Rating: 2

Recommended by 3 hikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Naturschutzgebiet-Kernzone

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Location: Essing, Kelheim, Lower Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany

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2. Tatzlwurm Wooden Bridge – View of Weltenburg Abbey loop from Randeck

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3. Keltenwall Trail – View of Weltenburg Abbey loop from Stausacker

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Tips

Staufer

July 20, 2025

Unterau Castle

Unterau Castle is located in the market town of Essing. It lies 300 meters southwest of the Unterau district on a gently sloping promontory above the Altmühl Valley, projecting northward. The complex is listed in the Bavarian Atlas as a "medieval castle" under the file number D-2-7036-0011.
The complex dates back to the first half of the 12th century. The castle is not mentioned in any written source. It was presumably built to guard the old road from Freising to Hemau in the Altmühl Valley.
A 180-meter-long access road leads to the hilltop castle complex, which was carved into the steeply sloping rock face with a cross-section of 4 meters. The core of the castle consists of a flat plateau 25 meters long and 20 meters wide. To the north, this extends into an 8-meter-long and 5-meter-wide promontory. The complex is protected on the north and northwest sides, and partly also in the east, by steep cliffs. A 1-meter-high embankment runs to the west, and a 1-meter-high wall, interpreted as the remains of a keep, still exists to the south. In front of the complex is an area measuring 15 × 10 meters. The western boundary is formed by a wall up to 2 meters high, projecting and retracting several times, made of massive, but merely stacked, rubble stones. On the west side, outside the wall, is the ruin of a 10 × 5-meter building, up to 1 meter high, which has two rooms. An oversized cuboid is built into the west side. Since there is no neck ditch, the existence of a military fortification is doubtful. Nevertheless, it appears that the inner castle with a keep was located on the upper plateau, and that an anteroom with a moat wall existed on the west side.

Source: wikipedia.de

Translated by Google •

Abusina

May 10, 2025

The complex dates back to the first half of the 12th century. The castle is not mentioned in any written sources. It was presumably built to guard the old road from Freising to Hemau in the Altmühl Valley. (Source: Wikipedia)

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Elevation 470 m

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Location: Essing, Kelheim, Lower Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany

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View of Weltenburg Abbey

Unterau Castle Ruins

1. Tatzlwurm Wooden Bridge – View of Burg Randeck loop from Kelheim

2. Tatzlwurm Wooden Bridge – View of Weltenburg Abbey loop from Randeck

3. Keltenwall Trail – View of Weltenburg Abbey loop from Stausacker

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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