Burg Schopflen

The ruin occupies a rectangular footprint at the eastern tip of the island, set off from the main island by a moat roughly seven meters across. The site sits at about 397.4 metres above sea level, which places the ruin approximately 2.5 metres above the level of the nearby lake. The surviving enclosure fronts the lane that runs along the Reichenau dam and forms the western and southern edge of that stretch.

Measured on the ground, the plan extends about 31 metres in the east–west direction and 19 metres north–south. Stone masonry survives to a considerable height in places, with exposed walls rising as high as nine metres. Openings in the outer wall for small weapons show that the wall top once stood noticeably higher; when gauged from the lake surface the original wall face would have reached roughly 13 to 15 metres above the water.

Remains of the main two‑storey building include massive wall sections preserved to about ten metres in height and nearly 2.5 metres in thickness. At least one defensive tower is documented as having carried a wooden walkway set out from the masonry, the timber gallery being finished with clay plaster and most likely roofed and projecting beyond the wall face. The surrounding moat and these outer walls are the principal surviving defensive elements.

The interior of the surviving rectangular wall has been adapted in modern times with an elevated observation platform installed by a nature conservation organization for the local bird observatory. The masonry and earthworks remain in situ and fragmentary, with the platform occupying the space within the remaining walls and the filled causeway providing the present land access to the former tower.