Château de Lutzelhardt
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Obersteinbach
Obersteinbach
Obersteinbach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
in the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
département, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is remarkable in that parts of it are actually built into the rock (semi-troglodytic).
History
According to studies by B. Metz and T. Biller, the first mention of the castle goes back to 1250. This date certainly corresponds with the approximate date of its construction by the Lutzelhardt family, after who the castle is named. The Lutzelhardts, who were Vögte of WasselonneWasselonne
Wasselonne is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. In is in this city that we can see the oldest firm of unleavened bread in France: Etablissements René Neymann.- Monuments :...
, sold the castle in 1363 to the Fleckensteins. It was burnt in 1397 by the troops of the city of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, taken by assault in 1462 by the troops of Wissembourg
Wissembourg
Wissembourg is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in northeastern France.It is situated on the little River Lauter close to the border between France and Germany approximately north of Strasbourg and west of Karlsruhe. Wissembourg is a sub-prefecture of the department...
and was certainly repaired by 1469.
The exact date of its abandonment is not known, but it was recorded as a ruin in 1538.
Description
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, twenty metres (~65 ft) high and sixty metres (~195 ft) long. At its feet, on the south-east, is the lower courtyard. On the highest part of the rock are the remains of a small square keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
, with dressed stones, and the remains of a residence along the eastern edge of the rock. The north wall still stands to the height of the ground floor. The other parts of the castle are slightly lower. They consist of a cistern, a well or second cistern, and traces of various buildings. In the lower courtyard there are remnants of sections of the curtain wall
Curtain wall (fortification)
A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two bastions of a castle or fortress.In earlier designs of castle the curtain walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult....
with the doorway on one side and mounds on the other, two massive cellars cut into rock (one having been vaulted) and a staircase in the rock giving access to the castle proper. On the opposite side of the castle to the lower courtyard, a ditch has been dug the length of the rock. Further west are remains of walls.
The Château de Lutzelhardt been listed listed since 1898 as a monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
by the French Ministry of Culture.
See also
- Château du Petit-Arnsberg (in French Wiki)
- Château du FleckensteinChâteau du FleckensteinChâteau du Fleckenstein is a castle in the commune of Lembach, in the Bas-Rhin département of France. This fortress, built in the shape of 52 m long boat, has a long history. The castle was built on a sandstone summit in the Middle Ages...
- List of castles in France
Sources
- French Ministry of Culture, accessed 1 Jan 2010
