Château de Ramstein, Scherwiller, France

The Château de Ramstein is built on the same crest as the Château de l'Ortenbourg. Standing at an altitude of 384 m, it is dominated by the Château de l'Ortenbourg from which it is separated by a few hundred metres.

It was built around 1293 as a rear base during the siege of Château de l'Ortenbourg by Otto von Ochenstein, during the conflict between Adolf of Nassau and Albert of Habsburg. Originally built as a simple tower to support a siege engine, it grew at the start of the 14th century into a true castle with the strengthening of the tower and an extra wall. In 1421, it was attacked and pillaged by Strasbourg. It was destroyed in 1633 by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War. At the start of the 19th century it became the property of baron Mathieu de Fabvier, who also owned Ortenbourg. Today, all that remains are the exterior wall and two turrets, built of granite.

Because of the risk of landslides, the castle has been closed to visitors since 1983. The castle has been listed as monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1924. It is the property of the commune.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Юлиан Младенов (2 years ago)
Creepy ?.

christopher sprake (3 years ago)
Well worth the hike to the top, great view and well preserved ruin that is open to the public free of charge.

John Maletka (4 years ago)
The ruin of the Ramstein castle has changed over the years thanks to the work carried out by an association dedicated to protect and improve the site.....Well worth the visit inspite of the long climbing path. Not for young kids imo...Walking shoes and water....

William Cordell (6 years ago)
Awesome hike. Castle is in disrepair, but worth the trip up.

Erik Mulder (6 years ago)
This Chateau is a ruin and there is not much left of it. You can see the outside a bit but at the time of writing they are doing reconstruction works so there is not much else too see than a few walls from the distant. The views are great though. Tip: take the beautiful walkway through the forest and reward your climb with a view of Chateau Ramstein and a visit to Chateau l'Ortenbourg, which is just a few minutes walk further to the top.

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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 Ramstein

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