The Château Saint-Léon is a former

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

Eguisheim Eguisheim (; ; Alsatian: ''Egsa'') is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies in the historical region of Alsace (). The village lies on the edge of the Ballons des Vosges Nature Park, where the Vo ...

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. Eguisheim chateau

History

The castle was long believed, mistakenly, to date from the 11th or 12th century. This was because of historians relying on texts actually describing another castle, the Château de Haut Eguisheim, and the birthplace in 1002 of

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (, , 21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historica ...

(Saint-Léon in French). In fact, the castle's octagonal plan and central

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 ...

, its masonry and, most importantly, its similarity to other castles ( Château du Burgstall at

Guebwiller Guebwiller (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Gàwiller'' ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, département in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It was a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the de ...

and the

Château de Wangen The Château de Wangen is a destroyed 13th century castle in the '' commune'' of Wangen in the Bas-Rhin ''département'' of France. Located within the urban area of Wangen, all that remains is the central space it occupied, its plan is still vi ...

) date it to the first part of the 13th century. The castle was built by the Counts of Eguisheim and taken over by 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 ...

during the 13th century. An episcopal bailiff occupied it until the French Revolution (1789). The ''

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin ''incinctus'' "girdled, surrounded") is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the positio ...

'' was surrounded by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

which was filled in by the 18th century. Houses built in the castle courtyard and against its walls were destroyed by a fire in 1877 which also damaged the castle - it was left in runs for many years. In 1885, it was bought by the Bishop of Strasbourg through the mediation of a M. Stumpf who wanted to build a chapel dedicated to Saint Leo. The remains of the keep were destroyed and the chapel built in its place, the works being carried out by the architect of historic monuments,

Charles Winkler Charles Winkler is an American television and film director and producer. He is the son of Academy Award-winning producer and director Irwin Winkler and actress Margo Winkler. He was married to actress Sandra Nelson from 1998 until their divorc ...

. The chapel was completed in 1895. Winkler also restored the residence at the south of the site which had been rebuilt, with mullioned windows in the 16th century. He added a staircase turret and a neo-

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 ...

balcony. It has been listed since 1903 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

* Castles in Haut-Rhin Monuments historiques of Haut-Rhin {{France-castle-stub

History

See also

References

External links