Château d'Andlau, Bas-Rhin, France

The Château d'Andlau is a medieval ruined castle. Constructed on a narrow granite outcrop which dominates the valleys of Andlau and Kirneck. The castle was built from granite blocks, certainly by Eberhard d'Andlau between 1246 and 1264. In 1678, after the joining of Alsace to France, it was pillaged by the troops of maréchal de Créquy. The castle stayed in the hands of the Counts of Andlau until the French Revolution and served afterwards as a residence for a gamekeeper in the service of the family.

Confiscated as a national asset, it was sold in 1796 to a merchant who, from 1806 and, with no apparent public opposition, began to sell the castle piece by piece. In 1818, Antoine-Henri d'Andlau bought the ruin and saved it from destruction. Repair work was carried out in 1856. It still belongs to the Andlau family.

The castle is on two levels. The higher part is built on a narrow ridge approximately 25 m wide and 80 m long, orientated south-south-west to north-north-east. It consists of a long residential building flanked at each end by circular towers about 10 m in diameter. The castle was built in one piece; only the lower court has been altered (in the 16th century). Like the neighbouring Château du Spesbourg, the building material was granite excavated on site. To the east, a steep mountainside provides a natural defence while on the other sides, a wide, deep moat cut into the rock isolates and protects the site.

References:

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User Reviews

Hugo Charles-Messance (13 months ago)
So peaceful, we are happy we went all the way up there!

Lukas Muller (2 years ago)
Beautiful medieval castle in the middle of the woods. If you drive up from Barr you can already see the two towers rising above the treetops. I think the people who complain about the building material and scaffolding are a bit silly: at least it shows that there are people (volunteers in this case) working here to preserve this monument and keep it accessible for you, for free nonetheless. It's very minimal anyway. Sadly the audiotour QR codes don't work anymore and apart from that there is little information on site about the history, that's a shame. However, the website is quite elaborate so that's nice.

Marcus Hvillum (2 years ago)
Well preserved, and still undergoing renovations. Nice to see. A bit hard to find the right track towards the Château, but well worth the walk.

Yihua Wu (4 years ago)
Amazing castle though mostly ruins and under construction to have it restored.

Kurt Morrill (5 years ago)
A ruined castle being rebuilt by volunteers. At the end of a nice 1.5 km (1 mi) mostly-flat hike (probably do-able with a stroller, but not wheelchair accessible).

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Kakesbeck is one of the largest medieval fortifications in Münsterland and the oldest castle in Lüdinghausen. The imposingly grown complex originated in 1120 as a motte, a small hilltop tower castle. After numerous changes of ownership, the castle was extended onto two islands, but it was not until the 14th century that it underwent significant alterations and extensions under the von Oer family. The estate experienced its heyday in the middle of the 18th century, when it covered an area of almost one square kilometre and consisted of five further outer castles in addition to the core castle, which were secured by ramparts and moats.

The well-maintained condition of the castle today is thanks to the late Wilfried Grewing, the former lord of the castle. The foundation named after him has been particularly committed to preserving the property since 2020.

Château d'Andlau

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