The Château d'Échéry is a ruined
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
situated in the ''
commune'' of
Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines in the ''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
'' of
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...
,
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 ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is dated to the 13th century.
The castle is also known today as Château de Haut-Echery or Château du Haut Eckerich and was originally named Château de Belmont.
Description
Standing on a rocky outcrop to the north west of the town, the castle is in a ruined state. Only the supporting wall of the chapel, with heavy
buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...
es is visible. The remaining walls are of
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
hardcore.
[
]
History
The castle was created by the Duke of Lorraine
The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were ...
who gave it as a fiefdom
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
to the lords of Echery, after whom the castle gets its name. It was first documented in 1250. The castle suffered two sieges in the second half of the 13th century, after which, with the extinction of the Echery family, it was shared between the Ribeaupierres and Hattstatts.[ The two families frequently quarrelled, to the extent that a wall was built to separate the parts of the castle. In 1452, the Ribeaupierres entrusted the safety of their part of the castle to the knights of Andolsheim; the Hattstatts followed suit in 1463. With the death of the last Andolsheim knight in 1472, guardianship of the castle passed to Herrmann Waldner. The castle was notorious for acts of banditry perpetrated by its occupants.Château du Haut Eckerich]
on Châteaux Forts d'Alsace website
A chapel was added in 1460, built outside the original '' enceinte'', against a thick surrounding wall. The castle was abandoned 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 ...
and fell into ruins. After the French Revolution, it was bought by a private owner and sold to the government of Alsace-Lorraine in 1880.[
The castle was classified as a '']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 collection of buildings, ...
'' in 1898. However, owing to an advanced state of dilapidation, it was declassified in 1932. In 1993, it was sold by the state to an association (''Association pour la conservation du château de Haut-Echery'') which became responsible for its maintenance.[
]
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
Château du Haut Eckerich
on the website Châteaux Forts d'Alsace (includes history, photos and access details)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Echery, Chateau
Houses completed in the 13th century
Ruined castles in Haut-Rhin