Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle

The castle stands at about seven hundred and fifty metres on a spur of the Vosges, and from the great bastion the view runs across vineyards and villages to the Rhine, with the Black Forest showing on the far side on clear days. The medieval castle here stood ruined and abandoned for more than two and a half centuries, after Swedish troops burned it in 1633. Between 1900 and 1908 the architect Bodo Ebhardt rebuilt it almost entirely, with painted halls, tiled stoves, a furnished keep and a working drawbridge, using the surviving evidence where it existed and informed invention where it did not. Whether that makes it a monument or a reconstruction is an argument nobody has settled, and the building is more interesting for it.

History

The sandstone crag is first named as Stofenberk in a deed of Charlemagne of 774, and in 854 it belonged to the abbey of Saint-Denis, which had a monastery here. A Burg Staufen is recorded in 1147, built by the Hohenstaufen Duke Frederick II of Swabia, and by 1192 it was called the Königsburg, the "King's Castle"; in the 13th century it passed to the dukes of Lorraine and their vassals, and after its holders sheltered robber barons it was burned in 1462 by the combined forces of Colmar, Strasbourg and Basel. The Counts of Thierstein rebuilt it from 1479 with defences for artillery, and in 1633, during the Thirty Years' War, Swedish troops took it after a 52-day siege and burned it, leaving it a ruin for centuries. Listed as a monument historique in 1862 and bought by Sélestat three years later, the ruin was given in 1899 to Emperor Wilhelm II, who had it rebuilt by the architect Bodo Ebhardt from 1900 to 1908; it now draws more than 500,000 visitors a year (Wikipedia, Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg).

What to look for

• The bastion terrace - the Alsace plain, the Rhine and the Black Forest beyond.
• The painted rooms - interiors invented and furnished around 1900.
• The keep and drawbridge - the reconstruction at its most confident.
• The approach through the forest - beech woods and sandstone outcrops on the climb.

When to go

April to October gives the clear air the view needs; haze in high summer often swallows the Black Forest entirely, and the best distance comes after rain or in autumn. This is one of the most visited monuments in France, and midday in July means slow queues through narrow rooms. Winter brings closures for snow and ice on the road.

Before you go

Almost nothing you walk through is medieval, and visitors expecting original fabric leave disappointed. The car parks fill by ten in summer and the last stretch of road becomes a crawl. Rooms are small, the route is one way with no overtaking, and the terrace is cold and windy even in June. Interior light is poor for photographs.

Nearby

The Alsace vineyards and villages below, the Sainte-Odile ridge north and Selestat's medieval library.

Key facts