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Idyllic scenery and forest as far at the eye can see and towering rend sandstone cliffs are the trademark of the Northern Vosges montains and the Wasgau, one of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe. Here you'll find cone-shaped mountains, sandstone columms, massive stone formations and endless hiking trails. Somewhere in the midst of all this is the green border, the 72000 hectares "Park Naturel Regional des Vosges du Nord" on the French side and the "Dahner Felsenland" (Dahn Cliff Country), the southernorth part of the "Naturpark Pfälzer wald" in the Palatinate. In this stretch of land along the Palatine-Alsatian border, much of it located at vertiginous heights, lie numerous stiking remnants of mighty castles and feudal fortifications in close proximity to each other. All of them reflect a tightly interwoven Franco-German past and almost 1000 years of European history. |
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Triple castle, the largest fortification in the Palatinate. dates back to 11th century. Typical Wasgau castle built on steep, free-standing cliffs, with rooms, steps and corridors carved out of the rock. remains of castle walls and a house. Museum with interesting artefacts, restaurant. |
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Near Erlenbach. Restored.This is the only occupied castle in the Palatinate. Impressive Wasgau castle, built in the 12th century, located high on the rock outcropping with a 104 meter-deep-well. Additional wall from the 15th century. Preserved : defensive tower, rooms arved out of the cliff, passageways hewn in the rock face. |
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Castle ruin near Busenberg.Perched on two narrow, steep sandstone cliffs, this cliff castle belonged to the Lords von Drachenfels (1209-1344). Destroyed in 1523. Still preserved : rock-hewn chambers (upper castle), tower building, remains of another tower (lower level). |
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This castle ruin near Lembach is mostly ontact. Built in the 12th century, one of the largest castle in the Vosges, erected on a steep sloping stone plate 370 meters high. An ideal fortification 92 meters long and 8 meters wide. The rock-hewn rooms are impressive. Castle museum and guided tours. |
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Castle ruin, 13th century, located above the community of Wingen on the 550-meter-high Schlossberg. Built on two sandstone cliffs separated by a gorge. Destroyed in the 14th century while used as a hideout for robber barons. |
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Above the Fleckenstein castle ruin on the 550-meter-high Schlossberg moutain. Built at the beginning of the 13th century by the old Alsatian House of the Pullers ; various occupants. destroyed in 1680. Worth seeing : Castle remains and sculptures from 13th and 16th centuries. |
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Castle ruin near Nothweiler, 572 meters high, located on a mountain crest, highest elevation of a fortification in the Palatinate. Holding of Imperial Court in the 12th and 13th centuries. Interesting remnants of gates, buildings and ramparts. Large rock-hewn chambers ; panorama view. |
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One of the highest castle ruins in the Palatinate, above Schönau. Typical Wasgau castle, with a picturesque location on freestanding cliffs, dates back to the 13th century. Presumably destroyed during the Peasants' uprising (1525). Preserved : parts of castle wall. |
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Castle ruins from the middle of the 13th century, situated on a rock outcropping split y a deep gorge. Located even higher is the "old castle", and to the west the "new castle". Partially destroyed during the Thirty Year's War. Still remaining : steps carved out of the rock face, apartments and the curtain wall. Made famous by the Waltharilied saga (Walther's battle against Gunther and Hagen) |
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Castle built in the 14th century against steep cliffs above Obersteinbach ; a typical small feudal castle in Alsace. Stairways and corridors have been preserved as well as remnants of a small house and a high tower. For further information : Obersteinbach museum. |
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Located to the north-west of Dahn. Dates back to the 13th century. Only pieces of walls are preserved from the older construction. Thelowr level of the castle still has large pieces of the original construction. The round tower with its spiral staircase with access to the upper castle has been well preserved. |
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A castle ruin near the picturesque village of Voderweidenthal. Empire fortification built in the 12th century. Once owned by the Counts of Leiningen. Partly destroyed in 1525. Interesting : weathered stone formation below the ruins. |
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Located near Böllenborn. Founded in the 12th century as a fortification of the German Empire. Destroyed during the Peasants' Uprising in 1525. Still standing are the gate to the lower level of the castle, parts of the curtain wall and remnants of the keep. |
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13th century, former robber baron hideout ; cliff castle with a beautiful view over the Steinbach valley ; destroyed during the 14th century ; rebuilt in the 15th century by the Lords von Fleckenstein ; destroyed in 1677. Only a few pieces of the walls remain. |
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A typical cliff castle, located near Obersteinbach. Presumably built during the 12th century. Destroyed during the Thirty Year's War. parts of the curtain wall, the lower level of the castle, the keep and the house remain. |
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