From castle to castle
Panorama sur les Vosges du Nord
Panorama sur les Vosges du Nord - T. Bichler/Best of Wandern
Lembach

From castle to castle

Embed this item to access it offline

This hike takes you to the discovery of no less than 8 ruins of castles between Northern Vosges and Palatinate!

Witnesses to the tumultuous past of the region, many medieval castles overlook the forests of the Vosges Nord - Pfälzerwald Transboundary Biosphere Reserve for generations. Built between the twelfth and mid-fourteenth century on impressive rocky spurs, these castles, mostly troglodyte, seem to often be one with their rocky support and offer superb views.

Description

From the car park, reach the Fleckenstein site. Then follow the castle symbol along this cross-border route.

  • Departure : Parking du château de Fleckenstein, Lembach
  • Arrival : Parking du château de Fleckenstein, Lembach
  • Towns crossed : Lembach, Niedersteinbach, Obersteinbach, and Wingen

8 points of interest

  • Château fort de Froensbourg
    Château fort de Froensbourg - SYCOPARC
    Castle-church-abbey

    Froensbourg Chateau

    Built in the 13th century, destroyed by Lichtenberg's troops in 1359 and then completely restored in the 15th century by the lords of Fleckenstein, the semi-troglodytic castle is built on two 40 m high rocks. Today, one can see rooms dug into the rock, an old cistern, an old square cistern as well as the remains of a residential tower whose broken arch door dates from 1481.
  • SYCOPARC
    Climbing: authorized site

    Escalade : rocher du Froensbourg

    Rock equipped and agreed for the practice of climbing with appropriate equipment unless otherwise indicated on site. This agreement was elaborated in accordance with the charter for the practice of climbing on the rocks of the Vosges du Nord Regional Nature Park (http://www.parc-vosges-nord.fr/medias/File/_doc_dyn/french/charte_escalade_20081223308490.pdf and http://www.parc-vosges-nord.fr/medias/File/_doc_dyn/french/livret_escalade_compo-escalade1223300156.pdf).

    Before going to the site to climb, please read the temporary restrictions at the following address: http://www.escalade-alsace.com/forum/weblog_entry.php?e=509

    In any case, please follow the information on the site.

  • Abri du Hichtenbach
    Abri du Hichtenbach - http://www.refuges.info
    Refuge-shelters

    Hichtenbach refuge

  • Les rochers glacés de l'Arnsberg
    Les rochers glacés de l'Arnsberg - Guy Schnell - http://www.randoalsacevosges.com
    Geology

    Rocher de l'Arnsberg

  • Château fort de Petit-Arnsbourg
    Château fort de Petit-Arnsbourg - SYCOPARC
    Castle-church-abbey

    Petit-Arnsbourg fortified Chateau

    Mentioned for the first time in 1316, it belonged to the abbey of Wissembourg and to the family of Wasigenstein. Passing from hand to hand, its last owners were the Hanau-Lichtenberg family between 1604 and 1606. It was destroyed during the Thirty Years War in 1635. Isolated at the top of a hill, it was equipped with a wooden structure allowing to gain on the void and to widen the dwellings. One of the doors, carved in the rock, with a double frame, bears the date of 1494. More information here and there.
  • Entrée d'une salle troglodyte
    Entrée d'une salle troglodyte - PNRVN - A. Serylo
    Castle-church-abbey

    Wegelnburg fortified Chateau

    Built at an altitude of 572 m, this ruin, first mentioned in 1247, is the highest in the Palatinate. After a robber knight attacking passers-by took shelter here, the castle was besieged in 1270 and illegitimately taken by the Fleckensteins. The castle changed hands frequently from 1330 onwards, before losing its military role and becoming a bailiff's residence in the 15th century. Plundered by Croatian soldiers in 1635, burned in 1644, it was finally destroyed by Montclar in 1680.
  • Château de Hohenbourg
    Château de Hohenbourg - A. Dorschner
    Castle-church-abbey

    Hohenbourg fortified Chateau

    This semi-troglodyte castle built in, above and around a rock at an altitude of 550 m dates from the 13th century. Attacked twice in the 15th century, the new owners built important defensive works. But the castle was largely destroyed during a siege in 1523. It was rebuilt between 1571 and 1590 but was definitively destroyed by the troops of Montclar in 1680. The castle offers a magnificent view of the Palatinate to the north and the Steinbach valley to the south.
  • Château de Loewenstein
    Château de Loewenstein - T. Bichler
    Castle-church-abbey

    Loewenstein fortified Chateau

    Built at the end of the 12th century at an altitude of 530 m and 300 m from the Hohenbourg, then ceded to the Ochsensteins, the castle became a den of robber knights before being besieged and destroyed by the troops of the Lichtenbergs and the bishop of Strasbourg in 1386. It was not rebuilt. Today, few remains remain except for traces of a pentagonal keep and a dwelling on the northern part, a cistern serving as access to the southern part, a spiral staircase and a well.

Forecast

Altimetric profile

Information desks

2 route de Bitche, 67510 Lembach

https://www.alsace-verte.com/#ottourisme@alsace-verte.com+33(0)3 88 86 71 45

Access and parking

From Haguenau, take the D27 towards Woerth then towards Lembach. Continue on the D3 direction Niedersteinbach then turn right towards Fleckenstein Castle.

Report a problem or an error

If you have found an error on this page or if you have noticed any problems during your hike, please report them to us here:

More information