Spesbourg

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Shortened history of the castle:

The castle was built in 1246 on the promontory granitic Rothmannsberg at 451m above sea level, overlooking the valley Spesbourg Andlau.

In 1383, the lords Andlau Spesbourg are announced as the new owners of the castle. But these lords transform the defensive medieval Spesourg castle into a palace and as a result, in 1431, Stephen of Bavaria invests Spesbourg who was without defenders. Anyway, a few months later, the castle was retaken by the Andlau head of 2000 men.

During the sixteenth century, the castle is attacked and burned by citizens of Barr because the Andlau lords had bribed one of their fellow citizens.

Certainly rebuilt, it is destroyed again and this time finally abandoned during the Thirty Years War.

After the revolution the castle was dismantled and its stones recovered by nearby residents.

In 1967 it is classified a historical monument.

Opening times and additionnal information:

The castle is open to public, free access.

E-mail : arc-spesbourg@neuf.fr

Haut Koenigsbourg

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Shortened history of the castle:

The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. Staufenberg, as it was called at the time, sat high above the Alsace plain at an altitude of more than 700 metres. This rocky, promontory site was ideal for observing the main routes in the region, and provided a strategic fall-back point.

The fortress changed its name to Kœnigsbourg (royal castle) in around 1192.

The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Hapsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire. This was the golden period for the Hohkœnigsbourg ("Hoh" meaning… "High"!)

The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century didn't resist to the Swedish artillery during the Thirty Years War, and the Hohkœnigsbourg defences were overrun. Besieged, pillaged then finally burnt to the ground in 1633, the castle was left abandoned for two hundred years.

Its ruins were classified as a historical monument in 1862. Three years later, the castle ruins were purchased by the nearby town of Sélestat. A restoration project was decided and in 1882, the architect Winkler drew up an ambitious reconstruction plan which would never be carried out, as the town did not have the means to fund it.

The Alsace region was annexed to Germany in 1871, and the town of Sélestat simply gave the still majestic ruins of the palace to Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1899.

Wilhelm II, anxious to underline the fact that the Alsace was German territory once more, saw the castle as a symbolic marker for the western limit of his empire. He decided to undertake a complete restoration of the castle. The architect Bodo Ebhardt was entrusted with the restoration project. His approach was one of rigorous scientific principles, considering the level of knowledge at the time: He listed all the archaeological remains found on the site, studied archive documents, analysed the architecture… and when in doubt, referred to examples chosen among structures built around the same time. Restoration work was carried out from 1900 to 1908.

On the signature of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the Haut-Kœnigsbourg was handed back to the French government.

Opening times and additional information:

The castle is open all year round, every day except on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.

January, February, November and December : 9:30 – 12:00 then 13:00 – 16:30
March and October : 9:30 – 17:00
April, May and September : 9:15 – 17:15
June, July and August : 9:15 – 18:00

The castle closes 45 minutes after the ticket office in the evening.

Full rate : 7.50 €
Reduced rate : 5.70 €
Children under 18 : Free of charge
Group rates :
- Tourism professionals and groups of 20 adults or more : 5.70 €
- Schools and extracurricular groups (30 children/group) : 1.50 €
- Disabled visitor groups (5 people or more) : 1.50 €

Free entrance for all visitors on the 1st Sunday of the month from November to March and during the “European Heritage Days” (3rd week-end of September).