Schenkenturm

Schenkenturm rises above the Dürrbach valley on the Kleiner Roßberg, northwest of Würzburg’s Unterdürrbach district. The square limestone and sandstone tower carries a ring of battlements and forms part of a medieval hilltop castle ruin. At 297 metres above sea level, the site overlooks the right bank of the Main, with Würzburg-Schenkenturm airfield nearby.

The castle first appeared in documents around 1270, while its chapel was recorded in 1293. A fire destroyed the stronghold in 1445, but rebuilding and expansion followed three years later. Citizens from Würzburg’s Pleich district plundered and burned it during the Peasants’ War in 1525, leaving too little money for a complete reconstruction. The property returned to the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg in 1537, then gained the name Schenkenschloss after partial rebuilding around 1600. Between 1879 and 1881, an association restored the bergfried as a lookout tower, with further work following in 1959 and 1997. A Gothic pointed-arch entrance, red Spessart sandstone doorframes, and an inscription in the gable give the protected monument its strongest details. The tower now offers a view across the surrounding landscape, while surviving walls trace the castle’s defensive past.