The Château de Ferrette 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
Ferrette in the
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 ...
''
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 France. It is a recognized
historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
since 1930.
[ Château fort de Ferrette]
History
It was on a rocky peak reaching 612 m altitude, overhanging the town of Ferrette, that
Frederic of Montbeliard, son of
Louis IV, count de Monbéliard, built the Château de Ferrette. It is not known if Frederic completely built the castle or simply restored a fortress by building on the ruins of what was an observation tower built by the Romans.
In 1103, Frederic I inherited the lands of upper
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 ...
, which later became the
county of Ferrette. He died in about 1168. His son, Louis, succeeded him but died during a crusade he undertook in 1189.
Louis' son, Frederic II, inherited. He developed his possessions to the point of attracting the covetous eye of the
Bishop of Basel
The Diocese of Basel (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland.
Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (). Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss Cantons of Switze ...
, with whom he had many conflicts. Frederic was assassinated in 1233, officially by his son, Louis, who was accused of
patricide
Patricide (or paternal homicide) is the act of killing one's own father. The word ''patricide'' derives from the Latin language, Latin word ''pater'' (father) and the suffix ''-cida'' (cutter or killer). Patricide is a sub-form of parricide, wh ...
and
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
. His other son, Ulrich, seized power. It was only six centuries later that a parchment was discovered containing Ulrich's consent to the assassination of his father.
This patricide was not a success because in 1271, Ulrich was forced to sell the castle and the town of Ferrette to the Bishop of Basel, thus becoming a vassal of the Bishop, as were to be his son Thiébaut and his grandson Ulrich III.
With the death of Ulrich III, in 1324,
Jeanne de Ferrette inherited the County of Ferrette (Pfirt). She married the
Archduke Albert II of Habsburg and thus integrated her county into Austria, which had it managed by administrators appointed by the Emperors. Given as a bailiwick to the lords Reich von Reichenstein in 1504, then to the
Fugger
The House of Fugger () is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists. ...
s of
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
from 1540 to 1567, the castle was transformed into a garrison.
The castle in 1600
In 1600, the castle had three buildings:
- The “Oberschloss” or higher castle, comprising six rooms and eleven bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and cellars. This part of the castle had a well 60m deep and a chapel dedicated to the virgin
Saint Catherine.
- The
bailiff
A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary.
Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...
's house had four rooms, seven bedrooms, two kitchens, a stable to house three horses, a cellar and even a bathroom. It also had lofts to store 1000 sacks of grains. A bastion with two dungeons was designed to defend this building.
- The House of the Knights had only one room and one bedroom but with lofts able to contain 500 sacks of grains.
A wall with towers and bastions designed to be held in a determined attack, surrounded the castle.
Today
Set on fire by the French in 1635, the castle was destroyed 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 ...
and only the lower part was restored. In 1644, at the
Treaty of Munster in
Westphalia
Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
, the Emperor of Austria yielded the county of Ferrette to the King of France,
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
, who gave it to his minister,
Cardinal Mazarin
Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...
, who offered it to his niece. Her husband took the titles of Duke de Mazarin and Count de Ferrette. These titles were passed on to his heirs and exist today in the person of the
Prince of Monaco
The sovereign prince () is the monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All reigning princes and princesses have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi. When Prince Rainier III died in 2005, he was Europe's longest reigning mo ...
who still carries the title of Count de Ferrette.
Thereafter, the castle was sold to the Zuber family, rich textile manufacturers from the
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...
region. Its ruins are maintained with the financial aid of the town of Ferrette, of the ''département'' of Haut-Rhin and the ''Services des Bâtiments de France''.
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
*
Charles Goutzwiller, ''Le Comté de Ferrette'', (1868). Republished by M. G. Micberth in ''Monographies des villes et villages de France: Ferrette et ses environs'', Res Universis, Paris, 1990.
* ''Le Patrimoine des Communes du Haut-Rhin'', Editions Flohic, 1998.
External links
Château de Ferrette on the south Alsace website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrette, Chateau De
Ruined castles in Haut-Rhin
Monuments historiques of Haut-Rhin