ホフの洞窟・トップ20

Easy access. A beautiful setting. The grounds are very well maintained and invite you to explore and take photos. You can spend a wonderful time there and feel like a lord or damsel of a castle. Not an original ruin from the Middle Ages, it was designed as a ruin and built at the end of the 19th century.

A very beautiful old ruin. From the top of the tower, you have a great view. It's easy to reach, and there's plenty of parking (even free) down below.

In the easternmost and oldest part of Theresienstein Park, on Labyrinth Hill, stands the Labyrinth Ruins. As early as the 17th century, a maze had existed here, created by a Hof teacher for his students. Starting in 1861, city architect Gottlob Thomas developed the idea of creating the ruins of a medieval castle here—in keeping with the spirit of the times. This castle complex, built from 1877 to 1893 as a ruin, consists of a bastioned circular structure and a keep, which is actually an observation tower. The 16-meter-high tower is open to the public and a popular vantage point for Hof residents. Seventy steps lead to the viewing platform, from which one can view the surrounding area of Hof and the Saxon Vogtland region.

The 16-meter-high tower, part of the artificially created ruins on Labyrinthberg (Labyrinth Hill) since 1861, offers a magnificent view of Hof and its scenic surroundings, extending into Saxony. Seventy steps lead to the top of the tower.

The hilltop castle of Uprode was built around 1320 by the Knights of Sparneck to secure their ancestral lands. The Swabian League destroyed it on July 11, 1523. With the destruction of their castles, the people of Sparneck also lost influence in their ancestral territory. The castle has been a ruin ever since. Remains of walls, foundations, and moats are visible in the forest. Scattered pieces of the demolished tower are also still clearly visible. There has been no safeguarding of its existence to date, so the ruins continue to deteriorate.

You have to enjoy this view.

Very nice

Right next to the Waldsteinhaus rises a mighty rock face containing the remains of the surrounding walls of the former main castle, the "Red Castle." Stone steps through the castle gate lead to the inner courtyard, which formerly housed various buildings (a gatehouse, a residential tower, and a cistern). The castle was built in the 14th century by the Lords of Sparneck; it was destroyed by the Swabian League in midsummer 1523. In the summer of 2024, the "Red Castle" was renovated and is now open to visitors again.