Castles of Alsace, from the gîte
Alsace has some four hundred castles, perched on the first foothills of the Vosges. The finest are less than half an hour from the gîte, and the first a twenty-minute walk away.
- 3 kmKaysersberg castle
- 8 kmthe three castles of Ribeauvillé
- 20 kmHaut-Kœnigsbourg
- ≈ 400castles in Alsace
Kaysersberg castle
This one is ours: from the gîte, a walk through the vines leads in under an hour to the foot of the keep, which overlooks Kaysersberg, Kientzheim and Sigolsheim. From the centre of Kaysersberg the path climbs up in twenty minutes; access is free, all year round.
An imperial castle built around 1200 to lock the road from Lorraine, it belonged to the Horbourg and then the Ribeaupierre families. Sacked in 1525 during the Peasants' War, restored around 1580 by the bailiff Lazarus von Schwendi, it was ruined by the Swedes in 1632 and never rebuilt.
Its cylindrical keep, one of the oldest round keeps in Alsace, has walls more than four metres thick, surrounded by a spur-shaped shield wall pointing towards the attacker. From the top, the view takes in the whole Weiss valley and the plain as far as the Black Forest.
Haut-Kœnigsbourg
The most visited castle in Alsace, 20 km from the gîte. A 12th-century fortress rebuilt between 1900 and 1908 by Emperor Wilhelm II, it shows — furnished and roofed — what a working castle looked like: armouries, kitchens, bedrooms, medieval garden and great bastion.
Allow two hours on site and book online in high season and during Advent. At its feet, in Kintzheim, the Montagne des Singes monkey park and the Volerie des Aigles eagle displays (in the ruins of Kintzheim castle) make a full day out with children.
The three castles of Ribeauvillé
Above Ribeauvillé (8 km), three ruins on the same ridge: Saint-Ulrich, the largest, with its knights' hall and Romanesque windows; Girsberg, perched on its rock; and Haut-Ribeaupierre, the oldest, recorded as early as 1084.
The trail starts from the top of the town and loops round the three castles in two to three hours, with a panorama over the plain. Walking shoes recommended; free access.
Hohlandsbourg, and further afield
Hohlandsbourg (15 km, above Wintzenheim) is one of the largest castles in the region, restored and brought to life from Easter to November: shows, workshops, a wall walk with a view over Colmar. Its neighbours Pflixbourg and Hohnack can be visited freely.
For a full day: Fleckenstein in the northern Vosges, a citadel carved into the rock; and, on the mountain side, the Hohneck and the Grand Ballon. Along the way, every village has its castle or its ramparts: Eguisheim, Riquewihr, Turckheim.
Kaysersberg and its castle
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Approximate road distances from the gîte. Opening times and prices for Haut-Kœnigsbourg and Hohlandsbourg on their official websites.