Burgruine Alt Ehrenfels

Hayingen, Germany, Germany

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Burgruine Alt Ehrenfels is the remains of a medieval hilltop castle, also known simply as Ehrenfels, located on a rocky spur at about 610 meters above sea level just west of the town of Hayingen in the Reutlingen district of Baden‑Württemberg, Germany.

The fortress was built in the 13th century by the noble Lords of Ehrenfels, later passed to the Gundelfingen family and then to the Kaib von Hohenstein before being acquired by Württemberg and given to Zwiefalten Monastery. Because the castle began to serve as a hideout for robbers threatening a nearby road, the monastery had it destroyed in 1516, and today only fragments of the original structure remain, including the lower part of a roughly circular tower set into a ruined shield wall and traces of a former neck ditch. 

The site now lies in a quiet wooded area above the Glastal and can be reached by a short hike from Hayingen, offering a small but atmospheric glimpse into the local noble history of the Swabian Alb region.