Hoheneck Castle is a medieval castle above Ipsheim. The castle is situated on the slopes of the Franconian Heights, a small, forested, hill range (Frankenhöhe Nature Park), high above the valley of the Aisch. To the east of the castle are the extensive forests of the Franconian Heights, part of the Hoheneck Forest. At its base is one of the few wine areas in Middle Franconia.
Hoheneck was first mentioned in 1132. In 1381, Arnold von Seckendorff sold Hoheneck with its property and forest to the Nuremberg Burggraf Friedrich V. A few years later, he established the Oberamt Hoheneck. In 1462, the castle was burned down during the war between Margrave Albrecht of Brandenburg and the Hochstift Würzburg.
The City of Nuremberg acquired the castle in 1953 and it is the only castle owned by the city, as the Nuremberg Castle is owned by the Free State of Bavaria. Since April 1984 the Youth Castle serves as a youth education centre for the Youth Council of Kreis Nuremberg.
The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.