Château du Birkenfels, Ottrott, France

The Château du Birkenfels is a ruined castle in the commune of Ottrott. Originally it was built by Burkhard Berger, a vassal of the bishop of Strasbourg, in the 13th century. The castle's position allowed surveillance of the old Roman road running from Mont Sainte-Odile to Champ du Feu and the valley of the Bruche.

The construction is dated to around 1260. The earliest recorded mention is from 1289. The entrance tower to the house and the lower courtyard are from the late 15th or early 16th century.

The castle belonged the Berger family until 1532, then to the Mundolsheim family until the French Revolution. The castle fell into ruins after the Thirty Years' War and was taken over by the town of Obernai, becoming part of the continuous forest between Obernai and Bernardswiller.

The castle is today in a poor state. Remains include the ditch, wall, keep and lower courtyard.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Bernard Koenig (15 months ago)
Small ruined castle a little away from the path. It can be visited in complete safety. Large information panel. Beautiful view of Mont Sainte-Odile.

Michèle Muller (2 years ago)
Very nice, fairly easy hike, the two castles are quite close, a little less than 2.5km from each other

Joshua Harvey (2 years ago)
Easy to get to once you find the trail head. Gorgeous castle and fun to roam around. ?Please follow for more vids and pics ? ? @dqadventure ? @dragonquestadventure ? @dragonquestadventure

Maxime (2 years ago)
Very beautiful ruin of the castle of Birkenfels, access via a few tens of minutes of walk, this one is in the middle of the forest, calm and relaxing place, small shelters with picnic table available on site.

Stéphane Wencker (3 years ago)
Beautiful ruins to visit easily, alone or with family, because access is very suitable. A nearby shelter allows you to take a picnic break. Beautiful view of the Mont Sainte Odile massif from the entrance staircase.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Château du Birkenfels

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche