When I was a kid, we went to the castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg with our school. It was always a romantic and magical day out that struck our minds of children. For several years since, the castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg is at my window. And it is still magical … Of course, for almost a millennium, it has not moved. I just came nearer to it. Its silhouette crowns the ridge of the mountain. At night, its fortified walls are a spot of light above the dark forest. When I look up over my screen I see it. Yesterday, at dusk, I dropped my keyboard and I went to the mountain facing me …

The famous medieval castle of Haut Koenigsbourg is nestled at a strategic location on a high hill overlooking the Alsatian plain; as a result it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years’ War (17th Century) when it was abandoned. For a few hundred years the castle of Haut Koenigsbourg was left unused and became overgrown by the forest. Various romantic poets and artists were inspired by the castle during this time. In 1900 it was restored under the direction of Emperor Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist attraction, overlooking the Alsace wine route.

The famous castle of Haut Koenigsbourg, the most visited site of Alsace and one of the first of France (1 million visitors / year), is only fifteen minutes away from our House of the 4 Travelers in La Vancelle. Castle of Haut Koenigsbourg, a landmark of heritage and cultural tourism in Alsace, is one of the finest examples of a mountain fortress in the late fifteenth century. It overlooks the village of Orschwiller in the Bas-Rhin county in Alsace, at an altitude of 757 meters.