Château de Wittschloessel
Encyclopedia
The Château de Wittschlœssel is a ruined castle
situated in the commune
of Dambach
, in the French département of Bas-Rhin
. The location, a place called Wittschlœssel, means small lock in German.
. It became a small fort, completing the security of the nearby Château de Schœneck
.
The only written record of the castle is from 1657 in a description of the limits of sovereignty, the castle being in the possession of the lords of Lichtenberg and later the Eckbrechts of Dürckheim.
Destroyed in 1677 along with the Château de Schœneck, little is known of the history of the castle.
walls. The ruin consists of two rocks on the summit of the mountain. Between the two rocks is a ruined room. Holes for beams can be seen in the rocks as well as the partition of a slanting building.
The castle is listed as a monument historique
by the French Ministry of Culture.
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...
situated 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 Dambach
Dambach
Dambach may refer to:* Dambach, Bas-Rhin, France* Dambach-la-Ville, Bas-Rhin, France* Dambach, Germany, a municipality in Landkreis Birkenfeld, Rhineland-Palatinate* and many others settlements and several streams in Germany...
, in the French département of 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 :...
. The location, a place called Wittschlœssel, means small lock in German.
History
Built in the 13th century with the name "Schmalenstein", the castle is more of a guard tower, dominating the valley of ObersteinbachObersteinbach
Obersteinbach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
. It became a small fort, completing the security of the nearby Château de Schœneck
Château de Schœneck
The Château de Schœneck is a castle situated in the commune of Dambach, in the French département of Bas-Rhin.- History:The castle, probably built at the end of the 13th century, is on a rocky crest at an altitude of 380 m. It was certainly built at the instigation of the Hohenstaufens for hunting...
.
The only written record of the castle is from 1657 in a description of the limits of sovereignty, the castle being in the possession of the lords of Lichtenberg and later the Eckbrechts of Dürckheim.
Destroyed in 1677 along with the Château de Schœneck, little is known of the history of the castle.
Ruins
On a rocky crest (altitude 440 m), nothing remains of the castle apart from ruined sandstoneSandstone
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,...
walls. The ruin consists of two rocks on the summit of the mountain. Between the two rocks is a ruined room. Holes for beams can be seen in the rocks as well as the partition of a slanting building.
The castle is listed 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.
External links
- Official site of the commune of Dambach
- French Ministry of Culture database entry for Château de Wittschloessel