The Château de Greifenstein is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the '' commune'' of Saverne in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of France. Property of the state, it has been listed since 1898 as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' by the French Ministry of Culture.

History

The ''Grand-Greifenstein'' was, without doubt, founded in the first half of the 12th century by the knight Meribodo de Greifenstein who had close links to the Ochenstein family. The ''Petit-Greifenstein'' dates from the end of the 13th century or start of the 14th century.

Description

Visitors can distinguish two castles separated by a large ditch. The older part has the largest

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

with 13 metres a side. A renovated tower stands between the two keeps at the centre of the site. It was probably part of Grand-Greifenstein. From the terrace there is an unimpeded view of Saverne, the Château du Haut-Barr, the Château du Grand-Geroldseck, the valley of the

Zorn Zorn is a family name of German origin meaning "wrath". Historically, it was predominantly strong in German influenced cities such as Strasbourg, Kempten, Innsbruck, and Würzburg. Today, the surname Zorn can be frequently found in Bavaria, Baden- ...

and the Saint-Vit chapel.

Access

To reach the castle, leave Saverne on the D132 road towards Lutzelbourg and turn right towards the Ramsthal lake. Then follow the '' Club Vosgien'' path signposted by a blue rectangle.

External links

References

Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Ruined castles in Bas-Rhin Monuments historiques of Bas-Rhin {{France-castle-stub