Ruin to visit
Ortenbourg Castle
Markers
Founded on the wishes of Rodolphe de Habsbourg in 1265, the castle was still under construction when it was besieged for the first time by the troops of the Bishop of Strasbourg. A few years later, the Ramstein was built nearby, and the Ortenburg, with its supplies cut, eventually fell. Rebuilt around 1300, it was then plundered and burnt down by the Swedes in 1632 during the Thirty Years’ War.
History
When Emperor Rodolphe de Habsbourg built the castle, Walter de Geroldseck, the ambitious Bishop of Strasbourg, ransacked Val de Villé and laid waste the Ortenbourg site. Defeated a few months later, he signed a peace treaty committing himself to pay 700 marks in reparations. This aid allowed Rodolphe in 1265 to build the most beautiful Alsatian castle of its time.
Key points
Its ship-like appearance with, at the bow, its proud pentagonal-shaped keep encased by a granite wall, its vast entrance gate surmounted by an arrowslit and the superb Gothic bays of the residential chamber which offer a clear panorama of the region.
Practical informations
- Address
-
Parking Hühnelmühle
67750 Scherwiller - Access
- From Scherwiller, take the D35 towards Châtenois. In the bend after leaving the village, take a small forest road on the right towards the Huhnelmühle car park. Shortly after the guest house, on the right is a sign showing Ortenburg. Follow the path marked by red rectangles (GR5) or the signs for Fortified Castles’ Trail.
- Walk time from car park
- 40 min
- Nearest tourism office
- Sélestat - Haut-Koenigsbourg Tourisme
www.selestat-haut-koenigsbourg.com
Bureau d'accueil du Vignoble - Châtenois
98 rue du Maréchal Foch, 67730 Chatenois
03 88 58 87 20 - moser@selestat-haut-koenigsbourg.com
www.selestat-haut-koenigsbourg.com - Facebook @selestat.tourisme.Alsace - Conservation association
- Les Sentinelles de l'Ortenbourg
06 72 47 97 51 - sentinellesortenbourg@orange.fr
http://sentinellesortenberg.monsite-orange.fr - Facebook @lessentinellesdelortenbourg - GPS coordinates
- Lat.: 48.29582110 - Long.: 7.39203393
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Parking Hühnelmühle
67750 Scherwiller
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