Built in the 19th century in gothic revival style by Prosper Morey, Saint-Epvre’s Basilica is decorated with stained glass and wood panelling and was in-part made in Bavaria. It was richly endowed by Napoleon III, Emperor Franz-Joseph, Ludwig II of Bavaria and Pope Pius who donated the beautiful stone paving in the choir that came from the Appian Way.
The market square and general trading centre in the Middle Ages, the fountain in the middle has a statue of Duke René II of Lorraine, who defeated Charles the bold, Duke of Burgundy, at the Battle of Nancy in 1477.
References: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.