Visit: archaeological dig at Château de l'Œdenbourg

Tours of the Château de l'Œdenbourg site will be organised as part of the 3rd archaeological dig campaign. Owned by the European Collectivity of Alsace, the Œdenbourg, or Petit-Koenigsbourg, site occupies the western end of the mountain where Haut-Koenigsbourg castle is located. Situated on a mountain/sandstone plateau at the same altitude as its famous neighbour, this ruin overlooks the Schaentzel pass some 200 m below. The site consists of a Gothic dwelling, protected by a shield wall to the east and a massive master tower at the opposite end, which was discovered at the end of the 20th century and attributed to the early 13th century. This medieval castle is protected by three moats cutting through the sandstone ridge. A quarry was opened here between 1902 and 1908, to supply the site for the reconstruction of the large neighbouring castle. This obstacle protects an enclosure built in regular blocks, part of whose parapet walk has been preserved. A programmed archaeological dig was launched in 2023 for a period of three years, coordinated by Archéologie Alsace, in partnership with the Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg and the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles du Grand Est - service régional de l'archéologie. This research is part of the Interreg project ‘Châteaux rhénans - Burgen am Oberrhein’, supported by the Collectivité européenne d'Alsace and the cultural services of the Länder of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and the canton of Jura in Switzerland. Led by medieval archaeologist Jacky Koch (Archéologie Alsace), a team of volunteers and students carry out 3-week summer fieldwork campaigns. Their main aim is to clarify the dating and layout of this castral complex, which is still poorly understood, and to enable it to be showcased to visitors to the massif in the years to come.