Cologne, Germany
1248
Munich, Germany
12th century
Berlin, Germany
1894-1905
Berlin, Germany
13th century
Dresden, Germany
1738-1751
Munich, Germany
1468-1488
Berlin, Germany
1891
Berlin, Germany
1701-1705
Dresden, Germany
1726-1743
Berlin, Germany
1702
Bremen, Germany
13th century
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
1311-1484
Nuremberg, Germany
1352-1362
Bremen, Germany
11-13th century
Aachen, Germany
793-813 AD
Nuremberg, Germany
1225
Freiburg, Germany
13th century
Cologne, Germany
974 AD
Cologne, Germany
c. 1172
Berlin, Germany
1220-1230
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.