Ortenbourg Castle

Perched at an altitude of 443 metres at the end of a ridge, Ortenbourg Castle, built between 1260 and 1265 by Rudolf of Habsburg, is considered one of the most beautiful ruins in the Rhine Valley. A masterpiece of military architecture, it is distinguished by its 32-metre pentagonal keep, encircled by a high granite wall and offering six floors of firing positions, designed to withstand enemy projectiles. Its silhouette, resembling a stone ship, with its vast entrance gate topped by an arrow slit and the Gothic windows of its dwelling, dominates an exceptional panorama.

From the moment it was built, the building was at the heart of regional conflicts. Walter of Geroldseck, Bishop of Strasbourg, ravaged the Val de Villé and ransacked the Ortenbourg construction site. Defeated shortly afterwards, he had to pay 700 marks in compensation, enabling Rudolph to complete his castle. However, in 1265, while the work was still unfinished, Ortenbourg was already under siege by the bishop's troops. A few years later, the construction of nearby Ramstein contributed to its isolation: deprived of supplies, it eventually fell.

Rebuilt around 1300, it was ravaged again in 1632 by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War, who pillaged and burned it. Today, the association ‘Les sentinelles de l'Ortenbourg’ (The Sentinels of Ortenbourg) works to preserve and promote this remarkable witness to Alsatian medieval history.