Back in August of 2021 my wife and I traveled through Bavaria and the Black Forest regions of Germany and on our way back home we spent some time in the Alsace department of France. The Alsace is a small historic region of the country that is one of my favorite places that we have been to. Its located close to the German border in the current Grand Est region of the country. It's made up of several historic and colorful cities and towns that are worth visiting but the two most prominent and recognizable would be Strasbourg and Colmar.
Our first stop in the area though was to Chateau de Haut Koenigsbourg, which is a large medeival castle built within the Vosges mountain range.
It sits up on a mountain peak overlooking the plains. As an added bonus the plains happen to be mostly wine country, which is just one more reason to love the area.
The pictures of this post are of the exterior of the castle and the wooded area surrounding it. My wife and I and our dog went hiking there early in the morning of our arrival, before we went on to check out some of the other small towns close by.
This was another one of those castles that we regretably didn't go into. I don't think that they allow dogs on the property or maybe it just seemed to be too busy for us to bother? Regardless of the reason, I don't have any photos of the interior but if you have been to the site and want to share your experience, please feel free to comment or post photos in that section.
History of the Castle
Throughout its history the Alsace region was under the control of both France and Germany and driving through the area you get a sense that it was a highly contested spot of landscape for quite some time.
Not only is it beautiful there, nearly every hilltop contains a castle or the ruins of an ancient one. There might have even been a bit of rivalry between lords going on as well. Some castle building competition perhaps?
The ruins in the photos aren't one of the castles that I'm referring to, they are just some ruins that we stumbled upon during our walk in the forest. I don't know what they are exactly but I'm guessing they're remnants of a previous version of koenigsbourg.
The first record of a castle being built on the site was in 1147. At that time it was called Castrum Estuphin but later changed to Koenigsbourg (Royal Castle) in 1157.
Being situated at above 700 meters elevation, it was an ideal observation spot and was well placed as a strategic and defensive fall back point.
The castle was costly and difficult to maintain and was eventually destroyed by citizens of the region in 1462.
It was later rebuilt even larger than it was before, with a new defensive system that had the ability to withstand artillery fire.
The castle is quite massive and you really get a sense for how big it is when you walk around its perimeter.
It's outer wall stands tall and gives you a sense of how difficult it would have been to penetrate during an attack.
The castle was beseiged again though during the Thirty Years War and despite its new improvements it was once again destroyed.
That was in the year 1633. From there it was left abandoned for the next 200 years.
The ruins became a monument in 1862.
In 1899 the castle ruins came under the domain of Kaiser Wilheim II of Germany and in 1900-1908 he commissioned the complete restoration of the Chateau and transformed it into what you see there today.
Here is a model of the castle that can be seen outside of one of the castles gates.
The castle as it is today was built by an architect by the name of Bodo Ebhardt and it was designed to look as it did in 1479. It's basically a medeival castle that was actually built in modern times.
After the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 the castle once again became the property of France.
It became a historical monument in 1993.
Today over 500 thousand guests visit the castle each year, making it a popular tourist attraction within the region.
It was getting pretty busy by the time we left. The street was lined on both sides of the castle with cars and busses filled with tourists from both France and Germany and even North America. I noticed quite a few people speaking English that day.
This is one of those places that you probably want to visit early in order to avoid the crowds.
We probably spent about 45 minutes to an hour walking around the castle and exploring the surrounding woods before heading out to our next destination. You could easily spend a few hours on site if you did both the interior and exterior though.
Chateau de Haut Koenigsbourg is definitely a good place to spend part of the day in the Alsace and I would recommend it as a destination in the region.