Ottrott () is a commune in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

in north-eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

.INSEE commune file
/ref> It lies southwest of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. The vineyards in and around Ottrott produce the red

Rouge d'Ottrott Rouge d'Ottrott is a Pinot Noir red wine produced in the commune of Ottrott, in the Bas-Rhin. It is a geographical denomination within the registered designation of origin Alsace AOC, which mainly produces white wines. It is recommended drunk at ...

, a geographical denomination within the registered designation of origin

Alsace AOC Alsace wine or Alsatian wine (; ; ; ) is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white wine. Because of its Germanic influence, it is the only ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' region in France to produce mostly varietal w ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1059, in Latin in the ordnance survey of

Heinrich IV Henry IV may refer to: People * Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (1050–1106), King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperor * Henry IV, Duke of Limburg (1195–1247) * Henry IV, Duke of Brabant (1251/1252–1272) * Henryk IV Probus (c. 1258–1290), ...

. The area rose to prominence in the 13th century when a number of castles were built. Many such as

Château du Birkenfels A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...

stand but are in ruins today. Château du Birkenfels was built by

Burkhard Berger Burchard, Burkhardt and related spellings may refer to: People * Burchard (name), Burchard and all related spellings as a given name and surname * Burckhardt, or (de) Bourcard, a family of the Basel patriciate * Burchard-Bélaváry family, an arist ...

, a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the

bishop of Strasbourg Archbishops

*Charles Amarin Brand (16 July 1984 – 23 October 1997) (with rank of archbishop from 1988) *Joseph Doré (23 October 1997 – 25 August 2006) *Jean-Pierre Grallet (21 April 2007 – 18 February 2017) *Luc Ravel (18 February 2017 ...

. The castle's position allowed surveillance of the old Roman road running from

Mont Sainte-Odile Mont Sainte-Odile ( or Ottilienberg; called Allitona in the 8th century) is a 764-metre-high peak in the Vosges Mountains in Alsace in France, immediately west of Barr, Bas-Rhin, Barr. The mountain is named after Saint Odile. It has a monaste ...

to Champ du Feu and the valley of the Bruche. The castle belonged to the Berger family who ruled Ottrott until 1532, then power fell to the Mundolsheim family until the French Revolution. The castle fell into ruins after the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

and was taken over by the town of Obernai, becoming part of the continuous forest between Obernai and Bernardswiller.

Demographic evolution

Geography

Neighboring communes

Bœrsch Bœrsch (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population Notable person * Charles Spindler See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the B ...

Saint-Nabor Saint-Nabor (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The communes ...

Neuviller-la-Roche Neuviller-la-Roche (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The com ...

Barr Barr may refer to: Places * Barr (placename element), element of place names meaning 'wooded hill', 'natural barrier' * Barr, Ayrshire, a village in Scotland * Barr Building (Washington, DC), listed on the US National Register of Historic Places ...

Le Hohwald Le Hohwald (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Alsace in north-eastern France. Geography Climate Le Hohwald is a hill village, with altitude above sea level in the commune ranging from 450 ...

Bernardswiller Bernardswiller (, ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in northeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The ...

Obernai Obernai (Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Owernah''; ) is Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. Obernai is a rapidly g ...

Landmarks

, (13th century) *

Château de Dreistein The Château de Dreistein is a ruined castle in the '' commune'' of Ottrott in the Bas-Rhin ''département'' of France. It is, in fact, three separate castles built on rocky promontories, hence the name ''drei Stein'', "three stones" in medieval ...

, (13th century) * Château du Hagelschloss, (13th century) *

Château de Kagenfels A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...

, (13th century) * Château de Koepfel *

Château de Lutzelbourg The château du Lutzelbourg is a château founded by Pierre de Lutzelbourg in the 11th century on a rocky promontory overlooking the Zorn valley in France at an altitude of 322m, in Lutzelbourg (Moselle). It has been classified as a Historic Mon ...

, (13th century) * Château de Rathsamhausen, (13th century - (15th century) * Château de Windeck, (13th century - (14th century) * Chapelle Saint Nicolas (17th century) * Église Saints Simon et Jude, Built 1771. *