A visit to Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle in France takes you back to the 1100s and all the layers of history between then and now. The castle stands as a fortress in the hills of Alsace, near the border of Germany. It’s been occupied by the French and the Germans through the years, and was once destroyed by Swedish invaders. My first impression on arriving at the castle is that each succeeding conqueror built higher and higher, reinforcing the brick and tile structure to withstand the inevitable next invasion.
To enter the castle grounds, you walk up a leafy lane past the outer wall. Purchase your ticket and grab an audio guide that will take you to well marked points throughout the castle. 
In the main courtyard, look up and ponder the various architectural styles that make up Haut-Koenigsbourg. After its destruction in the Thirty Years War in 1633, the castle sat in ruins for about 200 years. Then Kaiser Wilhem II of Germany undertook restoration in the style of the times, to honor his family, the house of Hohenzollern. Unfortunately for the Kaiser, World War I resulted in Germany’s defeat, and Alsace reverted to French control in 1919. Haut-Koenigsbourg was declared a National Palace and it’s been meticulously restored to its Medieval style. A sign notes that excavations produced 2.5 tons of articles such as roof tiles, crossbows, cooking pots, doors, chests, windows, clothing decorations, pieces of glass, and cut stones. These were all used to inform the latest reconstruction.
Start your tour in the courtyard and take a look at the front gate. The spikes are ready to descend on any unwelcome visitors. 
A 1937 movie, The Grand Illusion, was filmed here. You can learn more about the movie at this audio tour stop. And be sure to enjoy the view here, too!
Many stairways and ladders lead here and there. The audio tour makes a path through the parts of the castle so you won’t get lost. 
Heavy doors everywhere let you know that security was of utmost importance.
You’ll find fascinating details inside and out. Intricate iron work decorates the castle and likely dates to many different eras. 
The paintings that decorate the walls and ceilings depict scenes of battle.
And then there’s the lovely colored glass. 
Imagine the artistry that went into fashioning these tiles, with their different earthy tones of clay and rounded edges. 
The tour takes you to three floors and includes the Kaiser’s dining room, bedrooms with their ceramic tile heaters, and a room dedicated to knights in shining armor. 
I always love seeing children who are soaking in history. 
What good is a castle without a moat? And a wall still partially surrounds the entire fortress. 
After winding up through the castle on your audio tour, you finally climb to the top where the guards looked out on the 360-degree view of Alsace and into the Black Forest of Germany. 
Up here, I also found canons. I’m always intrigued around canons. 
Plan to spend 3 hours here (4 if you eat lunch). There’s plenty to see, and you’ll want to take time to enjoy the vistas, too.
Practical Information
How to get to Haut-Koenigsburg: The castle is in the hills above the train line that runs from Strasbourg to Colmar in Alsace, France. Get off at the Selestat Station. A shuttle bus runs from the station up to the castle and back for a cost of about 4 Euros. Be prepared to pay this in cash, as the bus driver doesn’t take credit cards.
Ticket Price: 9 Euro for adults; audio is 4.5 Euro (and well worth it)
Eating at the castle: A remarkably tasty lunch is available at the Chateau de Haut-Koenigsbourg at the bottom of the castle hill. Snacks and drinks are served at a deli with outside seating. Relax here and enjoy the view before taking the shuttle back to the train station.
Where to stay: The castle is an easy journey from either Strasbourg or Colmar, which both have many hotel choices. We stayed in Strasbourg at the excellent Bouclier D’Or.
More information: Visit the castle website for more about the history and your visit.
42 Comments
Beautiful architecture!
Straight out of a fairy tale!
Beautiful photos of a place I hadn’t heard of. Thank you for taking us along for a virtual visit, and for sharing your photos at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2019/11/happy-veterans-day.html
A wonderful travel, I enjoyed to read here…
Another beautiful place to explore – fascinating.
Wow, a great castle. Most of all I love all the details you caught: the round towers with the pointy roof, the spikes – jikes, the tiled heater (they were still in German houses when I lived in Berlin), and all the other wonderful historic details. The canon made me laugh. The owners were dead serious about life and death! Many thanks Sharon for showing this wonderful castle to All Seasons! Have a wonderful week:)
That is really pretty! I just love all the architectural details that really give you something new to see everywhere. And that view from the top is amazing!
I love castles! Thanks for sharing this one, it’s gorgeous!
My Corner of the World
Simply Astonishing. I always wonder how those castle survives for hundreds of years while our modern construction has shorter life spam.
So much history to observe and explore. – Margy
Very creative shots! I like the angles you chose.
Gorgeous castle! Looks like it was a beautiful day to explore it!
I’m glad to see you at ‘My Corner of the World’ this week!
My Corner of the World
Sharon, can’t find your comment from last week to me quickly, so I do this from memory. Am honored you are interested in my writing, and of course, I will keep you up to date! Have a great week and hope to “see” you back soon at All Seasons!
I have gotten to explore very little of Alsace, only Strasbourg and I need to do much, much, more! My favorite croissant in all the world was from an Alsacian baker in Pacific Grove, California – no one masters pastries like Alsace! I love visiting chateaus as well and have seen my fair share, but none in Eastern France so this is lovely to see and read about!
Filing this in case I ever make it to France one day. ❤️
I always love a good castle. And that view is incredible! #wanderfulwednesday
Your photos are gorgeous. You truly captured it well. It looks like a dreamy place to visit!
Not heard of this castle, so thanks for giving me insight 🙂 #wanderfulwednesday
It looks like such a beautiful day you vistited this castle! I’ve never seen one that looked quite like this. Thanks for sharing!
We did visited in October! It was lovely and the views over the countryside was stunning!! #FarawayFiles
Such gorgeous architecture. It is amazing to think of the hard work that was put into each beautiful detail
That´s a really cool day trip idea when you´re in the Strasbourg/ Colmar area! I love visiting castles as they brins you back to another era! Thanks for all the practical tips!
Cool photo’s, especially the ones of the doorway and steps. You can’t beat a good Château! #wanderfulwednesday
What an absolutely stunning castle. Definitely one to put on our list for a future trip to Alsace. Thanks for inspiring me on #farawayfiles. Hope you’ve been enjoying reading and sharing some of the other posts this week.
Wow that’s lovely. Very structurally similar to Chateau de Chillon in Switzerland.
#farawayfiles
It looks like a place I would get lost in! Dont get me wrong, I would love to get lost in a place like this, you always find the best secrets while beeing lost 😀
I do love a good castle and this looks like a fabulous place to explore. I’d like to visit Strasbourg and Colmar too so perhaps it could be a combined trip. #farawayfiles
I absolutely love visiting castles because I imagine myself in that time period. There is so much rich history, culture, and beautiful artisan architecture! I love hearing all about it during audio tours. This castle, especially the stained colored glass & the movie that was filmed there, is fascinating. I would love to visit this castle in France one day!
Thanks for this post, I love visiting castles when I travel and will add this one to my bucket list 🙂
Wow that castle is incredible!! The architecture is so amazing!!
What a gorgeous castle! I always enjoy audio tours as you can enjoy them at your own pace and receive tons of information. I can’t belhvw the intricate artistry displayed in this castle from the ironwork to the clay tiles.
This castle is like something from a fairytale! Definitely adding it to the list. 🙂
I have never heard of this castle before. It sounds like a great place to tour! I love how colorful everything is, even the battle scenes!
I love exploring the castles of Europe (probably because we don’t have castles — for obvious reasons — here in the US)! Being in Alsace, it makes sense that this castle has a much more Germanic feel to it than the many I saw during my trip to the Loire Valley a few years back. I love the close-up photos you captured of the castle’s details!
Beautiful! It looks like it would be so much fun exploring-especially for my daughter! Love the details!
This castle is beautiful and it looks like you had the most beautiful day when you visited! Even though it is in France, it looks like it has some German-style influence to the architecture. Hope to make it there one day!
A visit to Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle in France, which takes us back to the 1100s would be very interesting as I would love to learn all the layers of history between then and now. As this castle is located as a fortress between the hills of Alsace and also close to the border of Germany, it would be great to see all the blend of two cultures. The view of Black Forest from top of castle is amazing.
What a magnificent castle! It’s the stuff of fairytales to me. I can just see a princess kept up in that high tower above the front gate… I would love to walk through this incredible structure and touch the stone and woodwork; something tells me you can just feel the history of it all! Your photos did a great job capturing the experience, too. Thank you for bringing Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle to my attention. I’ll be sure to visit.
I love the architecture in Europe and your description and picture show this as one of the reasons I really enjoy it. I have not visited this exact castle but will have to keep it in mind the next time I am over in that area. Love all of your photos.
I love visiting castles, and there are so many in Europe!! Each has its own fascinating stories.
What an era it must have been when it was first built in the 1100s and then imagine the 30 years of destruction in the 17th century. There is so much memory in the stone walls. It must be an amazing feeling to be there.
Thank you so much for sharing this article! The castle is on my bucket list!
Moroccan architecture is different, however, I love to visit these castles.
Enjoy your adventures