The Château d'Andlau is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

ruined castle in the ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of

Andlau Andlau ( or ; Alsatian: ''Àndlöi'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace, Grand Est region of northeastern France. The village owes its origin to Andlau Abbey which was founded in 880 by Richardis, the empress of Charles the Fa ...

, in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is a recognized

historical monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

since 1926. Château fort de Haut Andlau

History

Constructed on a narrow

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

outcrop at an altitude of 451 m (~1466 ft), the ''Haut-Andlau'' dominates the

valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

of Andlau and Kirneck. The castle was built from granite blocks, certainly by Eberhard d'Andlau between 1246 and 1264. In 1678, after the joining of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

to France, it was pillaged by the troops of maréchal de Créquy. The castle stayed in the hands of the Counts of Andlau until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

and served afterwards as a residence for a gamekeeper in the service of the family. Confiscated as a national asset, it was sold in 1796 to a merchant who, from 1806 and, with no apparent public opposition, began to sell the castle piece by piece. In 1818, Antoine-Henri d'Andlau bought the ruin and saved it from destruction. Repair work was carried out in 1856. The castle was classified as a '' monument historique'' (historic monument) in 1926 and was reinforced in 1927-1928 with a restoration campaign launched on the initiative of the

Vosges Club The Vosges Club (french: Club Vosgien, officially the ''Fédération du Club Vosgien'', german: Vogesenclub) is a French rambling organization that covers the Vosges Mountains in the regions of Alsace, eastern Lorraine and the northeastern part ...

(''Club Vosgien''). It still belongs to the Andlau family.

The building

The castle is on two levels. The higher part is built on a narrow ridge approximately 25 m wide and 80 m long (~81 by 260 ft), orientated south-south-west to north-north-east. It consists of a long residential building flanked at each end by circular towers about 10 m (~33 ft) in diameter. The castle was built in one piece; only the lower court has been altered (in the 16th century). Like the neighbouring Château du Spesbourg, the building material was granite excavated on site. To the east, a steep mountainside provides a natural defence while on the other sides, a wide, deep moat cut into the rock isolates and protects the site.

References

External links

Association of the Friends of Andlau

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andlau, Chateau de Buildings and structures completed in 1264 Ruined castles in Bas-Rhin Monuments historiques of Bas-Rhin

History

The building

See also

References

External links