Château du Bernstein, Dambach-la-ville, France

The Château du Bernstein is a ruined castle in Dambach-la-Ville. It is among the oldest in Alsace. It was first mentioned at the beginning of the 11th century, though the northern surrounding wall can be dated to prehistoric times. The upper castle with keep, manor house and advanced works probably dates from the end of the 12th and early 13th centuries. In the Gothic era, the manor house was separated from the keep by a ditch, transformed later into a cistern. Towards the end of the 15th century, the St. Marguerite tower, so called from the name of the chapel there, was built in the rear courtyard.

Around 1835, Félix Dartein cleared the ground of the lower castle to build a house and some outbuildings which have disappeared.

Originally, the castle belonged to the Counts of Eguisheim Dabo. After the siege of 1227, it became the property of the bishop of Strasbourg and seat of the episcopal bailiffs until 1580.

The Château du Bernstein is state property and has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1931.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Iting Lin (3 years ago)
It is an amazing place, but it is about 30 minutes hike from parking.

Paulo Olayres (3 years ago)
One of the most memorable ruins i've ever visited. It's relatively well maintained and the view on top of the tower is breathtaking.

Ryosuke KITAOKA (4 years ago)
15 minutes on foot to the castle. Nice to warm up the body to take a stroll along the trail. The scenery was spectacular on the top of the fort. The gunshot holes explains intensity of war.

Zach Hoffman (6 years ago)
Beautiful castle hidden up in the hills. So glad we took the short hike up to see it. Absolute must see!

Cynthia Foster (7 years ago)
Amazing views. The hike was beautiful, the climb up the tower was scary, but the view made it worth it.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright discopalace

Historic Site of the week

Sigmaringen Castle

Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.

Château du Bernstein

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

Sigmaringen Castle