The Château d'Étobon 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 ...

in the '' commune'' of Étobon in the Haute-Saône '' département'' of France, 6 km from the town of Héricourt. The ruins stand on a hill dominating the village of Étobon. Its position and its considerable construction works contributed to its strength. It is 167 m above the village, and measures 220 m by 60 m. Burned and destroyed by the Duke of Furstemberg in 1519, it fell into ruin. Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg, recovered the castle but did not believe he could repair it. From the 17th century, after 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 villagers, with the permission of the Prince of Montbéliard, removed a large quantity of its stones for the construction of houses. Their descendants continued this destruction. Today, there remain only a few traces of this ancient castle.

See also