Town Fortifications

Goersdorf was elevated to city status in 1348 by Emperor Charles IV, but its fortified history dates back to 1335 with the construction of a surrounding town wall. Two gates marked the main entrances: the lower gate, located at the bottom of the Main Street towards Woerth, and the upper gate, near the church opening onto the road to Soultz-sous-Forêts. The church, mentioned as early as 1460, was then surrounded by a cemetery in the upper part of the village. Inside the ramparts stood a castle at the northwest corner, a school, and a courthouse. The wall, about 1.7 meters wide and built of sandstone rubble, was surrounded by a ditch still visible on the Napoleonic cadastre and partially preserved today. The gates were destroyed in the 19th century, the lower gate as early as 1810, while remnants of the wall remain, mainly to the south and east of the town.