Stempelstelle HWN Burgen & Schlösser, Ruine Heinrichsburg

Quedlinburg, Germany, Germany

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Stempelstelle HWN Burgen & Schlösser bei der Ruine Heinrichsburg is a designated stamping point on the Harzer Wandernadel hiking trail network near Quedlinburg, Germany, marking the atmospheric ruins of a 13th-century hill castle built to secure trade routes and local mines.

Likely founded by Heinrich von Gatersleben and first mentioned in 1290, it became a notorious robber baron stronghold by 1333 under Stolberg vassals, plundering merchants until its dramatic 1344 destruction by a Thuringian city league and Hohnstein counts, with the outlaws executed and some loot recovered amid legends of buried treasure.

Rebuilt around 1381 but ruined again by 1502, its scant remnants of walls, bergfried tower base, and cistern now serve as a scenic trail checkpoint for hikers exploring Harz castles, protected as a nature reserve with no digging allowed.