Atoll castle (German:Zollburg)[1] is acastle that, in theMiddle Ages and theEarly Modern Era, guarded acustoms post and was intended to control it. They were typically found in theHoly Roman Empire. Toll castles always stood in the vicinity of an important long-distancetrade route over, for example, the Alpine passes or theMiddle Rhine. Such castles were usually placed at strategic locations, such as border crossings, river crossings ormountain passes, and were manned by armedguards. The actual toll-collecting point lay below at the road or river and was often linked by walls to the castle itself.
Toll castles belonged to the respective territorial lords[2] or to vassals, to whom the duty and right to collect the toll had been delegated by these lords. Most toll castles also had additionaladministrative and other functions, as border watch posts or residences, such as for exampleStahleck Castle aboveBacharach on theRhine. Some, such asPfalzgrafenstein Castle in the middle of the Rhine nearKaub, were, however, purely customs points and only collected tolls.
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