Château du Vieux-Windstein
The Château du Vieux Windstein is a ruined castle in the commune of Windstein, in the Bas-Rhin département of France.[1]
History
The first documented mention of the Château de Windstein is dated 1205. It was built at the end of the 12th century by the Hohenstaufens to protect their imperial palace at
Description
The castle is on top of a narrow sandstone outcrop and comprises two groups of buildings, separated by a ditch formed from an old fault enlarged when the castle was divided. There are a number of troglodytic (built into the rock) elements.[1]
Access to the lower courtyard of the southern castle is by a stone staircase cut into the rock. A house has been built on the site of the common buildings. A platform has been laid out, halfway up the rock, preceded by cave rooms and a cistern. There is a 41 metres (~135 ft) deep well cut into the rock. The foundations of a Romanesque chapel are visible. On the summit, traces exist of a keep.[1]
On the northern summit are remains of parts of a wall (late 13th, early 14th century), the only remnants of a keep built against the south castle. This part also has vestiges of a large habitable tower, as well as parts of a manor house (13th/14th centuries).[1]
The Château du Vieux Windstein has been listed since 1984 as a
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Base Mérimée: Château fort dit Château du Vieux Windstein, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ 1332 according to the French Ministry of Culture. However, Louis Spach says 1334 (Oeuvres choisies de Louis Spach, vol 3, p 284. Ve Berger-Levrault & Fils, 1867)
External links
- Base Mérimée: Château du Vieux Windstein, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
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