Today few stone structures dating to before the 11th century are to be found. Most stone castles and fortifications date from the 12th century and later. Some, whose names predate the stone structures, can claim origination in their particular locations from, or even prior to, the 10th century. That history may have included one of the wood palisade castles. There are however thousands of examples of community defenses built of stone that predate most castles. Where a noble would have had to think hard about assuming the high cost of materials and manpower involved in the construction of his personal castle, towns could more quickly and easily afford and construct walls around their core area.

Burghausen Castle at Burghausen, Bavaria dates only to the 13th century, but the grounds predate the castle by centuries as a strategic location. Celtics were known to utilize the point where the castle now stands as early as 100 B.C. As it now stands Burghausen is the longest castle in Germany at about 1000 yards in length. 

Like any building a castle is property and properties must be maintained and upgraded in order to preserve an owner's equity. This can often require extensive modification in an effort to insure continued use of the building.

In the category of well preserved or fully restored medieval structures there are some real gems of Germany's true castles and fortresses. Burghausen (above) is one example as is Marksburg at Braubach on the Rhine river (R). Marksburg is the home of the German Castle Association, which exists to preserve the centuries of castle history. It is a rare example of a castle in prime condition, having survived since the 12th century virtually intact.

The middle category are the castles that have been or are being preserved in states partial restoration and which local owners are attempting to keep from the dust bin of history. Maintaining the remnants, even at the least involved level of commitment, is an expensive affair, especially as the government gets more involved in the demands of historic preservation.  Giechburg (top of page) is one of many hundreds of state owned castle ruins whose survival is supported by leasing or renting space to businesses such as hotels, food service and souvenir stands.

At the other extreme there are thousands of remnants of buildings and defensive walls throughout Germany that did not survive the ravages of time, turmoil or the economy. In some cases these ruins are little more than piles of rubble not worth any special effort needed to reach them. Amongst these however are a great number that continue to impress the visitor with their unattended statuesque silhouettes and roofless mazes that tell much of their layout and living conditions. At most of these sites there is no obstacle to free exploration of the grounds, other than the occasionally arduous hike required to reach them. Steur (at right) is an example of castle remnants seemingly forgotten by even locals. Its stubble and rubble are virtually lost in the overgrowth outside of town.