The fortifications of the Burgweg with 14 large gate structures leading in several turns through the rocky terrain to the top are characteristic and interesting from a fortress point of view. This road overcomes deeper rock notches at a moderate incline, occasionally leads along carved rock walls or widens to weapon sites until it reaches the main castle. A second approach, called the Narrensteig, leads up the steep, rocky western slope, is partly carved into the rock and leads into the castle without touching the gates of the main path. This access was blocked off by a defensive transverse wall erected at the lowest part with a few additions that no longer exist today. Both defensible approaches existed in earlier times, as reported by the 13th-century chronicler Unrest.
Due to its age, the castle can be found both as a medieval fortress and as a fortress in the modern sense. A document from 1388 mentions the original design, consisting of a square tower or keep, the adjoining living quarters (palas), the small castle chapel and protective walls with battlements (wintperge) and embrasures, when the crossbow was still the main weapon. The actual core of the complex, the stronghold, is an independent defense body that includes older parts. The gates, partly in red sandstone, partly in green chlorite slate and enriched with white limestone or marble, are noteworthy as Mannerist architecture.