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

Michèle Muller (14 months ago)
Very nice, fairly easy hike, the two castles are quite close, a little less than 2.5km from each other

Joshua Harvey (16 months 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 (17 months 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.

Toby Martin (3 years ago)
Out of all the ruined castles in the area this one is probably my favourite, made special by the built in toilet hidden in the castle wall. It still works, too.

Simona A (4 years ago)
Beautiful castle. Great walk through the forest

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright diannlroy.com

Historic Site of the week

Jan Hus Memorial

The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.

Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.

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

Jan Hus Memorial