Château de Dreistein, Ottrott, France

The Château de Dreistein is a ruined castle in the commune of Ottrott. It is, in fact, three separate castles built on rocky promontories, hence the name drei Stein, 'three stones' in medieval German. It was built in the 13th or 14th centuries and was separated into two sections later. In the 17th century it was destroyed.

The castle is sited on the massif of Mont Sainte-Odile, to the west of the abbey. It overlooks the valley of the Ehn which it controls along with the castles of Koepfel, Rathsamhausen and Lutzelbourg and the Château du Hagelschloss. As with the latter, it is close to the Pagan Wall of Mont Sainte-Odile.

In common with all the neighbouring castles of its time, the castles at Dreistein are constructed from pink sandstone from the Vosges. The remnants of the two castles are separated by a ditch. The western castle is flanked by a half open staircase tower.

Access to Dreistein is only possible on foot, following paths laid out by the Vosges Club.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Micka Wolf (2 years ago)
Nice view at the top but watch out for the ruins which look unstable and the boars. Several wild boar families hang out in the area, especially next to the castle of Hagelschloss, especially in the evening.

LW (2 years ago)
Very nice view of the valley and the mountain behind.

Jonathan Kopp (5 years ago)
Really fun to do. A good hiking trail as we like them. The ruins themselves are not exceptional but still interesting.

Gabor Kristofcsak (6 years ago)
Nice ruin in the middle of the forest. Worth the half hour walking from the parking area. There is a huge stone wall nearby running for kilometres (4m high, 1.5m wide). Part of the old kloster territory ?

Marin Ferara (9 years ago)
It's a great ruined complex of three castles. I hiked there as a part of a round hike to st odile.

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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 de Dreistein

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