The castle with Droleriefigur* in piquant pose named “Leckarsch”

The Upper Castle, a castle, stands on a hilltop protruding from the Crane Mountain. It was built in the 12th century in Romanesque style. In 1453 it was expanded into a magnificent Renaissance castle and survived until 1934 when it burned down to ruins and was only half rebuilt in 1934.

Magnificent view

The “Dicke Turm” (3.60 m thick wall, 22 m high) gives the visitor a magnificent view over the city and the landscape conservation area Mittleres Ilmtal. The most famous symbol of the castle is the “Leckarsch”, a Droleriefigur* in a piquant pose, which is located at the southwest corner of the upper castle and around whose origin several legends entwine.
* (Drolerie=French: droll, often drastic representation of humans, animals or mythical creatures in medieval art).

Living history for the visitors

In a permanent exhibition, visitors can relive the history of the castle through pH๏τographs, contemporary documents and finds. In a palace for concerts and theater performances and a chapel for wedding ceremonies in a historical ambience, the fairy-tale castle enchants visitors again and again. In addition, the annual castle festival at Whitsun and the Christmas market on the 3rd weekend of Advent also attract many visitors.