Ortenbourg Castle

Perched at 443 meters above sea level on the top of a ridge, Ortenbourg Castle stands as one of the most beautiful ruins in the Rhine Valley. Built between 1260 and 1265 by Rudolf of Habsburg, it embodies a masterpiece of medieval military architecture. Its pentagonal keep, 32 meters high, is surrounded by a granite wall that protects it. Designed to withstand attacks, it features six floors of firing positions and defenses adapted to deflect enemy projectiles. Its silhouette, visible from afar, resembles a stone ship, with its imposing keep at the front, an entrance door topped by an arrow slit, and the Gothic windows of the residence opening onto a breathtaking landscape.

From the start of its construction, the site was disrupted by Walter of Geroldseck, Bishop of Strasbourg, who ravaged the Val de Villé. After his defeat a few months later, he signed a peace treaty and paid 700 marks in reparations, allowing Rudolf to continue building what would become one of the finest fortified castles in Alsace. However, as early as 1265, the still unfinished Ortenbourg endured its first siege by episcopal troops. A few years later, the construction of the nearby Ramstein Castle deprived Ortenbourg of resources, leading to its decline. Rebuilt around 1300, it was again devastated in 1632 by the Swedes, who looted and set it on fire during the Thirty Years' War.

Today, the association "Les sentinelles de l’Ortenbourg" is committed to preserving, promoting, and animating this emblematic monument, whose silhouette remains one of the most striking in the region.