Château d'Ochsenstein
Encyclopedia
Ochsenstein Castle is a ruined fort located in the French commune Reinhardsmunster
, in the Bas-Rhin
department (one of the 96 administrative divisions of France, excluding its overseas terrtories). It was home to the Ochsenstein, a powerful family from Medieval Alsace. The castle sits upon three sandstone spurs and comprises three separate castles: le Grand Ochsenstein, le Petit Ochsenstein and a third building, thought to be called le château de Wachelheim.
Ochsenstein castle has been classified as an historical monument since 1898.
State Forest
and occupies the southern end of the Schlossberg mountain, at a height of 584 metres. The ruins tower above the glade and the Haberacker Forest House (altitude: 476 metres). The site is surrounded by steep slopes, except to the north of the Schlossberg summit plateau where the terrain is flat. The castle overlooks an old strategic passageway, which rises from the Alsace plain and Reinhardsmunster
through the Mosselthal vallley, to reach the Baerenbach valley, the Stambach,Annex and, which finally reaches Lutzelbourg
, and Phalsbourg
in Lorraine
.
, take the D171, then take the forest road which passes le Schaeferplatz. Follow this until you reach the Haberacker farms. Park your car near the farms and take the forest path marked by a blue rectangle (GR 531).The castle is about 20 minutes from the farms, roughly 110 metres above.
is thought to have been built in the late 12th Century. It is part of a chain of Vosges
castles near Saverne
which were built to defend the passage from Alsace
plain to Lorraine
. The Lordship of Ochsenstein was carved out of the lands of the Marmoutier Abbey by the diocese of Metz
.
The first mention of a Lord of Ochsenstein dates back to 1187: Bourcard Ochsenstein signed a charter by Frédéric Barberousse confirming his possessions to the Koenigsbrück Abbey. Therefore, the castle must have already been in existence then as the custom at the time was that descendants use their surname as the name of the castle.
but had to recognise the usufruct
to the nobles who occupied it. Otto 1st survived his illness and lived until 1241. At that point, his children inherited his legacy according to the plans he laid out in 1217.
who was elected King of the Romans
in 1273. The Ochsenstein home thus gained great influence and the castle became the centre of a large Lordship that included Marlenheim
and Barr
(1321).
Otto 4th, son of Otto 3rd, remained loyal to Rodolphe of Habsburg, accompanying him in his military campaigns. As a reward for this loyalty, Rodolphe appointed him landvogt of Alsace and Breisgau
(a provincial bailiff
). Otto 4th’s zeal and his growing influence caused him to make many enemies, including the bishop Conrad of Lichtenberg and Guillaume 3rd of Hohenstein.
attacked Ochsenstein Castle. The Burgmänner who defended it were hunted and the castle was destroyed (most likely burned). It is probably the Petit Ochsenstein which was destroyed but was then quickly rebuilt by Otto 6th.
Palace, the residence of the Landvogt. Otto 5th, referred to as Landvogt of Alsace and Speyergau
when the Habsbourgs returned to power, resided in Landau
.
The Ochsensteins owned another residence in Strasbourg
since 1259. It stood in the current Rue Brulée (Burnt Street), which was named after Ochsensteinergasse and occupied part of the current Town Hall site. The Burgmänner who had guarded the Ochsenstein Castle no longer lived there. The castle was used by the Ochsensteins as collateral for cash advances (around 1400, Otto 7th hired out his castles for a thousand florins).
Whichever it was, the castle was rebuilt when, in 1403, Frédéric of Ochsenstein signed an agreement with his brothers on the sharing of the Ochsenstein castles’ maintenance costs. It mentions that they should contribute to the expenses concerning "the three castles" if they wanted to come and live there.
This did not affect the tensions between the Ochsensteins and the Margrave of Baden. Hence, Volmar was forced to give up half of Ochsenstein Castle on November 11th 1411. Volmar tried to fight against its influence by giving Louis 4th of Lichtenberg the right to his castle, but he also had to give this right to the Margrave and his sons in 1417. In addition, to help his brother, Jean, to become provost of the general chapter of Strasbourg, Volmar yielded to the bishop of Strasbourg, Guillaume 2nd of Diest, giving him half of the castle.
In 1555, Jacques de Deux-Ponts-Bitche redeemed the Landsberg’s mortgage. Receiving the subjects of the lordship of Ochsenstein oath of allegiance four years later, he launched the renovation work (it is likely that the castle was adapted to accommodate firearms at this time). However, in 1559, whilst he was preparing to live there, a fire consumed the castle, reducing it to ruins.
Parts that are still visible:
Reinhardsmunster
Reinhardsmunster is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, in the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
department (one of the 96 administrative divisions of France, excluding its overseas terrtories). It was home to the Ochsenstein, a powerful family from Medieval Alsace. The castle sits upon three sandstone spurs and comprises three separate castles: le Grand Ochsenstein, le Petit Ochsenstein and a third building, thought to be called le château de Wachelheim.
Ochsenstein castle has been classified as an historical monument since 1898.
Position
Ochsenstein Castle is located in the heart of the SaverneSaverne
Saverne is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km N.W...
State Forest
State forest
A state forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign state.The precise application of the term varies by jurisdiction...
and occupies the southern end of the Schlossberg mountain, at a height of 584 metres. The ruins tower above the glade and the Haberacker Forest House (altitude: 476 metres). The site is surrounded by steep slopes, except to the north of the Schlossberg summit plateau where the terrain is flat. The castle overlooks an old strategic passageway, which rises from the Alsace plain and Reinhardsmunster
Reinhardsmunster
Reinhardsmunster is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
through the Mosselthal vallley, to reach the Baerenbach valley, the Stambach,Annex and, which finally reaches Lutzelbourg
Lutzelbourg
Lutzelbourg is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is located on the Marne-Rhine Canal....
, and Phalsbourg
Phalsbourg
Phalsbourg is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France, with a population of about 5000.In 1911, it was a town of Germany, in the imperial province of Alsace-Lorraine, lying high on the west slopes of the Vosges, 25 miles north-west of Strasbourg by rail...
in Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
.
Access
From SaverneSaverne
Saverne is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km N.W...
, take the D171, then take the forest road which passes le Schaeferplatz. Follow this until you reach the Haberacker farms. Park your car near the farms and take the forest path marked by a blue rectangle (GR 531).The castle is about 20 minutes from the farms, roughly 110 metres above.
Local Area
The castle ruins are located:- 7 km South-West of the SaverneSaverneSaverne is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km N.W...
- 1,5 km West / North-West of ReinhardsmunsterReinhardsmunsterReinhardsmunster is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
- 5 km West of Marmoutier
- 6 km North East of DaboDaboDabo is a Japanese rapper. He first appeared on the Japanese hip-hop scene in the 1990s, collaborating in a Shakkazombie song, "Tomo ni ikkou". Since 2002, he has released three albums: Hitman , Diamond , and The Force...
in Moselle - 500 m above the isolated farms of Haberacker
- 1 km North-West of the "Billebaum" crossroads
History
The Ascension of the Ochsensteins
The Construction and Orgins of the House of Ochsenstein
Ochsenstein CastleCastle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
is thought to have been built in the late 12th Century. It is part of a chain of Vosges
Vosges
Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...
castles near Saverne
Saverne
Saverne is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km N.W...
which were built to defend the passage from Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
plain to Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
. The Lordship of Ochsenstein was carved out of the lands of the Marmoutier Abbey by the diocese of Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
.
The first mention of a Lord of Ochsenstein dates back to 1187: Bourcard Ochsenstein signed a charter by Frédéric Barberousse confirming his possessions to the Koenigsbrück Abbey. Therefore, the castle must have already been in existence then as the custom at the time was that descendants use their surname as the name of the castle.
The Succcession of Otto 1st
When he became ill in 1217, Otto 1st shared his land among his sons. Two of them entered the clergy and the other three inherited the castles. Otto 2nd, the eldest, received Ochsenstein Castle - known then as ‘der Fels’ (the rock) - the service of the knights who guarded it (the Burgmänner) the mountain on which it is built and farms nearby. The second son, Eberhard, received Wachelheim Castle: this castle was probably the one that was built on the third stone spur. Conrad, the third son, received the Greifenstein CastleGreifenstein Castle
Greifenstein Castle is a castle in the municipality of Filisur of the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...
but had to recognise the usufruct
Usufruct
Usufruct is the legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that either belongs to another person or which is under common ownership, as long as the property is not damaged or destroyed...
to the nobles who occupied it. Otto 1st survived his illness and lived until 1241. At that point, his children inherited his legacy according to the plans he laid out in 1217.
Alliance with the Habsbourgs
Otto 3rd, the son of Otto 2nd married Cunégonde of Habsbourg. She was the sister of Rudolph of HabsburgRudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
who was elected King of the Romans
King of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
in 1273. The Ochsenstein home thus gained great influence and the castle became the centre of a large Lordship that included Marlenheim
Marlenheim
Marlenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
and Barr
Barr, Bas-Rhin
Barr is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-History:Barr was originally an imperial property, but in 1522 the Habsburgs leased it to Nicolas Ziegler, and a few years later give him the freehold. Ziegler's sons sold Barr to the city of Strasbourg...
(1321).
Otto 4th, son of Otto 3rd, remained loyal to Rodolphe of Habsburg, accompanying him in his military campaigns. As a reward for this loyalty, Rodolphe appointed him landvogt of Alsace and Breisgau
Breisgau
Breisgau is the name of an area in southwest Germany, placed between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest around Freiburg im Breisgau in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after that area...
(a provincial bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
). Otto 4th’s zeal and his growing influence caused him to make many enemies, including the bishop Conrad of Lichtenberg and Guillaume 3rd of Hohenstein.
The Destruction of the Petit Ochsenstein
In 1284, Guillaume of Hohenstein captured Eckerich Castle from Duke Frédéric of Lorraine. Otto 4th tried to restore the castle to the Duke. In his absence, Guillaume of Hohenstein and the bishop of StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
attacked Ochsenstein Castle. The Burgmänner who defended it were hunted and the castle was destroyed (most likely burned). It is probably the Petit Ochsenstein which was destroyed but was then quickly rebuilt by Otto 6th.
The Progressive Estrangement of the Castle
The Lords of Ochsenstein did not always reside in their castles: Otto 4th resided mostly in HaguenauHaguenau
-Economy:The town has a well balanced economy. Centuries of troubled history in the buffer lands between France and Germany have bequeathed to Haguenau a rich historical and cultural heritage which supports a lively tourist trade. There is also a thriving light manufacturing sector centred on the...
Palace, the residence of the Landvogt. Otto 5th, referred to as Landvogt of Alsace and Speyergau
Speyergau
Speyergau was a medieval county in the stem duchy of Franconia around the administrative centre of Speyer, Germany. It roughly covered the former Roman administrative area of Civitas Nemetum which is now the south-eastern portion of the Palatinate between Rhine and Palatinate Forest and some parts...
when the Habsbourgs returned to power, resided in Landau
Landau
Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...
.
The Ochsensteins owned another residence in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
since 1259. It stood in the current Rue Brulée (Burnt Street), which was named after Ochsensteinergasse and occupied part of the current Town Hall site. The Burgmänner who had guarded the Ochsenstein Castle no longer lived there. The castle was used by the Ochsensteins as collateral for cash advances (around 1400, Otto 7th hired out his castles for a thousand florins).
Another Destruction of the Petit Ochsenstein
The Ochsenstein decline began in the late . Rudolph 2nd lead many conflicts including the one which caused the city of Strasbourg to besiege the castle in 1382. Once conquered, a small garrison was added, but then the castle staff was cut as their maintenance was deemed too expensive. Trendel, like Lehmann, assume this happened in the Petit Ochsenstein castle.Whichever it was, the castle was rebuilt when, in 1403, Frédéric of Ochsenstein signed an agreement with his brothers on the sharing of the Ochsenstein castles’ maintenance costs. It mentions that they should contribute to the expenses concerning "the three castles" if they wanted to come and live there.
The Sharing of the Castle
Like his father, Frédéric was involved in many conflicts. Notably, one was with the Margrave of Baden; Frédéric was obliged to give him half of the Ochsenstein Castle in 1411 after an arbitration which was conducted by his stepfather Hanemann 2nd of Deux-Ponts-Bitche. One clause provided for the return of the entire castle to Frédéric in case of the Margrave’s death. However, Frédéric died first, in October 17th 1411, without leaving an heir. His brother, Volmar, inherited the castle and left his orders to start a family.This did not affect the tensions between the Ochsensteins and the Margrave of Baden. Hence, Volmar was forced to give up half of Ochsenstein Castle on November 11th 1411. Volmar tried to fight against its influence by giving Louis 4th of Lichtenberg the right to his castle, but he also had to give this right to the Margrave and his sons in 1417. In addition, to help his brother, Jean, to become provost of the general chapter of Strasbourg, Volmar yielded to the bishop of Strasbourg, Guillaume 2nd of Diest, giving him half of the castle.
The Legacy is Passed to the Deux-Ponts-Bitches
Georges of Ochsnstein, who succeeded his father, Volmar, in 1426, also came into many conflicts. The ransoms he had to collect when he was captured contributed to the ruin of his home. In 1485 after he died, it was his sister Cunegonde, the wife of Henry 1st of Deux-Ponts-Bitche, who inherited the estate. Guillaume de Ribeaupierre attempted to challenge this legacy by arguing that the Ochsenstein legacy is "masculine" and cannot fall to a woman. Henry obtained the backing of the bishop of Metz for just three years (1487 -1490), before the bishop retracted it.Successive Re-purchasing and Reconstruction
Economic problems lead George de Deux-Ponts-Bitche to mortgage the castle with Ulric of Rathsamhausen-zum-Stein for a value of 2800 florins. The castle was then passed to Sébastien of Landsberg who had received a dowry from his wife, Anne of Rathsamhausen; the couple settled in the castle in 1527 although it is described as being dilapidated.In 1555, Jacques de Deux-Ponts-Bitche redeemed the Landsberg’s mortgage. Receiving the subjects of the lordship of Ochsenstein oath of allegiance four years later, he launched the renovation work (it is likely that the castle was adapted to accommodate firearms at this time). However, in 1559, whilst he was preparing to live there, a fire consumed the castle, reducing it to ruins.
Demolition
The Count Philippe 5th of Hanau-Lichtenberg inherited the ruined castle after Jacques’ death in 1570; the Linange-Wesburg family protested and it was only in 1691 that a compromise was reached. In the , the castle’s stones were used to build a hunting lodge near the Haberacker farm; it has since been in a state of collapse.Map of the Grand Ochsenstein
| N° | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | South Wall |
| 2 | Modern Entrance |
| 3 | Lower Court |
| 4 | Stairs |
| 5 | East Tower |
| 6 | Corps-de-garde |
| 7 | Trench and access to the Petit Ochsenstein |
| 8 | Kitchen |
| 9 | North Building |
| 10 | Keep |
| 11 | Chapel |
| 12 | Large Corridor |
| 13 | Polygonal Room |
| 14 | Filter Tank |
Parts that are still visible:
- The ruins of the polygonal room, the polygonal chapel, the lower court and the semicircular firearms tower at the Grand-Ochsenstein
- Some relics of the fortifications at the Petit-Ochsenstein
Connected Articles
- Ochsenstein
- Geroldseck
- Haut-Barr
- Abbaye de Marmoutier (Marmoutier Abbey)
- Liste des châteaux d'Alsace (Liste of Alsace castles)