Explore the historic highlights of Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland
15th century
Geneva, Switzerland
c. 1160
Geneva, Switzerland
1909
Geneva, Switzerland
19th century
Geneva, Switzerland
1879
Geneva, Switzerland
1824
Geneva, Switzerland
1852-1857
Geneva, Switzerland
1903
Geneva, Switzerland
1929-1938
Geneva, Switzerland
1877
Geneva, Switzerland
10th century
Geneva, Switzerland
1863-1866
Geneva, Switzerland
1482
Geneva, Switzerland
1928-1932
Geneva, Switzerland
1755
The Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg is situated in a strategic area on a rocky spur overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain, it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt at the behest of the German kaiser Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist site, attracting more than 500,000 visitors a year.
The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. The fortress changed its name to Koenigsburg (royal castle) around 1157. The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Habsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire.
The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century did not suffice to keep the Swedish artillery at bay during the Thirty Years War, and the defences were overrun.