CHATEAU HAUT-KOENIGSBOURG
King’s Fairy Tale Castle along Alsace Wine Road
One
of the most popular tourist sites in the Alsace Region near Strasbourg,
France the Chateau Haut-Koenigsburg (High King’s Castle) was first
built in the 12th Century on a strategic hill in the Vosges mountains
just west of Sélestat with a spectacular view of the Alsace valley.
The view reaches all the way to the Rhine River which now
separates
France from Germany, cutting between the German Black
Forest (See Black
Forest - Ham and Cuckoo Clocks) and eastern France. This
was not always so. In the ever shifting boundaries of historic Europe,
Castle
Haut Koenigsbourg
(Hoch Königsburg) was formerly a possession
of Germany
under the Hohenzollerns (see Hohenzollern
Castle) and the German Empire. The original castle was attacked
and burned in 1462, rebuilt and abandoned
again after the Thirty Years War (see Kaiserslautern
Genealogy Museum). It remained empty and overgrown by the
forest for a few hundred years, like Sleeping Beauty’s castle,
becoming the inspiration of romantic poets and artists.
The castle of Haut Koenigsbourg
came into the hands of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1899, who had
it restored to its present form, reopened in 1908 as a romanticized
though not entirely inaccurate recreation of it’s 15th Century
structure. He didn't have long to enjoy it as the castle and indeed Alsace became part of France
again following WWI (see Maginot
Line). The French first derided the castle as a symbol
of German rule, but have since embraced it as a fairy tale
castle
destination along the Alsace Wine Road (see Route
du Vin Alsace). Like its cousin, the German Wine Road
through the hills and valleys of Baden-Weurttemburg and Rhineland
(see Bad
Durkheim), the Alsacian wine trail leads from Strasbourg
(see also Strasbourg
Cathedral)
to the Swiss border.
Also
at Haut Konigsbourg you'll find an old wooden staircase that was used
in Jean Renoir's masterpiece film "Grand Illusion". A short
walk along the trail into the woods at
the top
of the mountain
you'll find the ruins to an older castle, with a curious use of
large boulders in the walls, in place of the smaller stonework. The
builders of Haut Koenigsbourg decided that the site of the old castle
wasn't suitable for the big plan of the restoration.
Visiting Chateau Haut Konigsbourg
The
castle is open all year except on 1st January 1st, May 1st, December 25th and Mondays from November to February. Admission price is €9 for adults,
€5 for youth 6 to 17, under 6 are free. Regular guided tours in English are offered from December to October at 2 pm. The guided tours are free. A self audio guide tour lasting about an hour is available
from the ticket desk year round for €4 adults and €2 for children. The
castle of Chateau Haut Koenigsbourg
is located near Selestat just above Kintzheim (see Alsace
Wine Road Auberge),
halfway between Strasbourg and Mulhouse and can be reached by car
about 25 minutes south of Strasbourg off the
A35,
or about 40 minutes
from Baden-Baden on the German side of the Rhine River on N59 from
Freiburg and 45 minutes from the EuroAirport (see Hotel
Cour du Roy Saint-Louis).
It's a very popular spot and parking can get crowded. You can
try to park
near
the top
for
a short
walk
or
about
half-way
up
is
a trail
than isn't too bad a climb. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Chateau
Haut-Konigsburg
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SEE ALSO:
BLACK
FOREST CASTLE BURG RÖTTELN
FRIEDRISCHSBAD - BADEN-BADEN
CASTELLANE DU ROCK
