The Château du Vieux Windstein 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

Windstein Windstein is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The co ...

, 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 ...

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 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 ...

History

The first documented mention of the Château de Windstein is dated 1205. It was built at the end of the 12th century by the Hohenstaufens to protect their imperial palace at

Haguenau Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...

. The castle was a

fief 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 ...

of the Empire, in the possession of the Windstein family, and was built in two periods, though dates are not known. Later, the castle was split in two with the lords of Sickingen and Schmalenstein each owning a part. Some buildings were constructed in the 13th century but it later became a haunt of brigands and was razed in 1332,1332 according to the French Ministry of Culture. However, Louis Spach says 1334 (
Oeuvres choisies de Louis Spach
', vol 3, p 284. V^e Berger-Levrault & Fils, 1867) following a conflict with the city of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. Despite a ban on rebuilding, it was rebuilt again during the course of the 14th century. Burned in 1515, it passed into the possession of the Durkheims. The castle was finally ruined at the end of the 17th century, destroyed by the artillery of General

Joseph de Montclar Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

in 1676 during the wars against

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 ...

Description

The castle is on top of a narrow sandstone outcrop and comprises two groups of buildings, separated by a ditch formed from an old fault enlarged when the castle was divided. There are a number of troglodytic (built into the rock) elements. Access to the lower courtyard of the southern castle is by a stone staircase cut into the rock. A house has been built on the site of the common buildings. A platform has been laid out, halfway up the rock, preceded by cave rooms and a cistern. There is a 41 metres (~135 ft) deep well cut into the rock. The foundations of a Romanesque chapel are visible. On the summit, traces exist of a

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 ...

. On the northern summit are remains of parts of a wall (late 13th, early 14th century), the only remnants of a keep built against the south castle. This part also has vestiges of a large habitable tower, as well as parts of a manor house (13th/14th centuries). The Château du Vieux Windstein has been listed since 1984 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, ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vieux Windstein, Chateau du Ruined castles in Bas-Rhin Monuments historiques of Bas-Rhin Rock castles Buildings and structures demolished in the 17th century