The Castles of Ottrott is a medieval castle ruin, above the town of
Ottrott, in the
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...
department of eastern France (
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
). The site contains the remains of two neighbouring castles that were separated by a moat: Lutzelbourg (also: ''Vorderlutzelbourg'') and Rathsamhausen (also: ''Hinterlutzelbourg'').
History
The castles of Ottrott were built on the plateau of Elsberg about 500 metres above the surrounding land. Two ruins, separated by barely fifty metres, now stand here: the "Rathsamhausen" on the west of the site and the "Lutzelbourg" in the east.
Recent excavations uncovered the foundations of a primitive castle between the current ruins of the castles. This primitive castle, named Old Lutzelbourg, was most certainly built before 1076 on the initiative of the counts of Eguisheim solicitors of Hohenbourg's monastery (Sainte-Odile) located some kilometres away.
This first structure was destroyed by the
Hohenstaufens
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...
at the beginning of the 12th century but was immediately raised again by them to be finally
enfeoffed to Conrad de Lutzelbourg in 1196. In 1198, it was destroyed by
arson
Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...
by the Eguisheim-Dabos.
The construction of the new castle, known in the middle of the 16th century as "Rathsamhausen", was begun by the beginning of the 13th under
Otto of Burgundy who had decided to take back control of the region.
The works must have ended after 1220, the Lutzelbourg being always present on the scene, because in 1230 Elisabeth de Lutzelbourg was appointed abbess of the monastery of Hohenbourg. By the middle of the 13th century the castle presently called "Lutzelbourg" was built just below "Rathsamhausen".
Visitors to the site notice that the defences of "old Lutzelbourg" are turned towards its neighbour, always in the hands of the Hohenstaufen. Historians suppose that it was built on the initiative of the
Bishop of Strasbourg
Archbishops
*Charles Amarin Brand (16 July 1984 – 23 October 1997) (with rank of archbishop from 1988)
*Joseph Doré (23 October 1997 – 25 August 2006)
*Jean-Pierre Grallet (21 April 2007 – 18 February 2017)
*Luc Ravel (18 February 2017 ...
,
Henri de Stahleck, to gain control of the imperial possessions.
During the works, the defenders of "Rathsamhausen" were not idle and built an impressive
keep
A keep 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 castles that were fortified residen ...
facing its neighbour.
By the end of the 13th century, the Hohenstaufen had already lost all their influence on the Empire and some kind of agreement was probably found between
Rudolph of Habsburg and the episcopal party. In 1392, "Lutzelbourg" was enfeoffed to the counts of
Andlau who ceded their rights the following year to the Rathsamhausen-Ehenweiers already in possession of the nearby castle. They undertook to reconstruct both at the beginning of the 15th century.
"Old Lutzelbourg" was again destroyed between 1470 and 1570, probably in 1525 during the War of the Boorish, whereas "Rathsamhausen" was successively enfeoffed in 1424 to Henri de Hohenstein and then to his son-in-law, Daniel de
Mullenheim.
Important
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
style renovation works were begun by the Mullenheims between 1520 and 1530. Conrad de Rathsamhausen finally bought back the castle by 1557 from Caspar de Mullenheim.
It has since been known as "Rathsamhausen", the name it has today. The castle was plundered and ruined during the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
.
The castles of Ottrott are nowadays private property. They have been listed as ''
Monuments historiques'' since 1985.
[
]
See also
*List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...
References
External links
*
*
Les châteaux d’Ottrott
chateauxfortsalsace.com
Kastel Elsass
Les Châteaux d'Ottrott
Le Centre d'Études des Châteaux-Forts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottrott, Chateau
Ruined castles in Bas-Rhin