The Château du Grand-Geroldseck is a ruined medieval castle

Castle

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...

 situated in the commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

of Haegen

Haegen

Haegen is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-Geography:Haegen is a mountain village located on the western frontier of Alsace which at this point coincides with the western frontier of the Alemanish dialect area...

 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 :...

 département in 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...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It was listed as a monument historique

Monument historique

A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...

by the French Ministry of Culture in 1898.

History

The castle is one of the oldest in the northern 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...

, founded at the beginning of the 12th century by the lords of Geroldseck, avoués of the abbey of Marmoutier

Marmoutier

Marmoutier is a commune in the Bas-Rhin département in Alsace in north-eastern France. The origin of the place is the former Marmoutier Abbey, of which the abbey church still serves as the parish church. It is a commune in the Bas-Rhin département in Alsace in north-eastern France.-History:In 590 St...

, to ensure the protection of its territories. It constitutes a fine collection of feudal residence. Built on a platform, it combined the functions of dwelling and defence. It was heavilly altered at the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.

Description

The square keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

 has walls three metres thick, faced in embossed stone. The cellars of the lord's residence and the barbican

Barbican

A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...

are still visible.

External links

• Ministry of Culture listing with link to photos