The 13th-century Staufer-era fortress of Burg Leofels

The name Leofels carries the weight of the Latin word for lion. The fortress first appeared in the written record in 1208 as Lewenfels. Perched on a spur 405 metres above the Jagst valley, the ruin sits at a point where the land narrows. To the east, the river carves a small, old bay; to the west, the Klingeneinschnitt creates a sharp break in the landscape.

The village of Leofels rises on the southeastern slope of this rocky rise. Across the river, the hamlet of Hessenau is connected to Leofels by a mountain path called a Steigenstraße.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons