Ruin Zähringer Burg

Gundelfingen, Germany, Germany

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Burg Zähringen is a medieval hill castle ruin located on a spur of the Roßkopf mountain at 478 meters elevation near Gundelfingen in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the territory of Gundelfingen's Wildtal district above Freiburg's Zähringen neighborhood.

Built in 1078 by Berthold II, Duke of Zähringen, as a residence, the castle gave its name to the powerful noble family of the Zähringers, who founded numerous cities including Freiburg, Bern, and Fribourg. The castle hill was already inhabited in prehistoric times, with settlement traces from the Neolithic Michelsberg culture, followed by Celts from the Hallstatt period who fortified the summit, and later an Alemannic high settlement in the 4th–5th centuries.

First securely documented in 1128, the castle served as imperial property leased from the German king and was destroyed during the Peasants' War in 1525, with complete destruction occurring during the Thirty Years' War from 1618 to 1648. Today, the ruins consist of scattered foundation walls and a striking 18-meter-high round tower with crenellations and an observation platform dating from the 13th century, which can be climbed with a key available from the nearby Waldrestaurant Zähringer Burg.

Since 1851, the Freiburg student fraternity Teutonia has celebrated its founding festival on the castle, and the site is now owned by the city of Freiburg, offering spectacular views over the surrounding area.