Stein Castle Ruin (Planschwitz)

The Stein Ruin is a castle ruin on the shore of the Pirk Dam near the Planschwitz district of the city of Oelsnitz/Vogtl. in the Vogtlandkreis in Saxony.

History
The castle was built by the ministerialis family, the Vögte von Plauen, belonged, like the nearby Planschwitz Castle, to the sovereign castle complexes, and was first mentioned in 1327 as "munitio lapis" in the possession of Heinrich von Machwitz, who secured the sovereign rule on behalf of the Vögte.

In the following years, the castle lost its importance as a border fortification. In 1358, after the loss of the southern Vogtland to the Wettins, it regained value and was expanded again at the beginning of the 15th century, until it finally lost its military importance at the end of the 15th century. In 1519, it was enfeoffed by Duke Johann of Saxony to the Brothers von Zedtwitz. The castle complex was inhabited until the 18th century and the farmstead was operated as an outwork.

Description
The castle complex, formerly on a rock spur above the White Elster, has a core work of 26 by 22.5 meters and was protected by a 6.5-meter-wide ditch cut into the rock, in front of which to the south is the remains of a round tower with an outer diameter of 4.2 meters and a wall thickness of 0.5 meters. In front of the ditch was an outer wall with bastions suitable for firearms. The two-room palas of the castle complex was partially cellared and had an enclosing wall on three sides of the quadrangle.

The castle ruin, which has been protected as an archaeological monument since October 15, 1959, is partly submerged by the waters of the Pirk Dam and is only partially visible.