Œdenbourg Castle

Œdenbourg Castle, locally known as Château de l'Œdenbourg or Oedenburg and often also spelled as Oedenbourg, lies west of the village of Orschwiller, in the Bas-Rhin department in France. This area is also known as the Southern Alsace or the Southern Vosges.

Nothing is known about the history of Œdenbourg Castle, but as it is so close to the famous Haut-Kœnigsbourg Castle, its fate was certainly tied to that of its neighbor. The Œdenbourg probably dates back to the 13th century and its builders were probably the Hohenstaufen family.

The castle was built on a rocky outcrop at the west end of the Staufen mountain, only some 200 meters from the older Haut-Kœnigsbourg Castle. Part of the keep, with an embossed wall, is very different from the other masonry, which indicates its construction around 1200. The rest of the castle probably dates back to the second half of the 13th century. The living quarters have a curtain wall protecting it from attacks from the west. The keep is more to the east, separated from the living quarters by a courtyard with a cistern.

At present the ruin of Œdenbourg Castle is fenced off and its interior can thus not be visited. The 2 last pictures in the gallery below, showing its interior, were made when I visited the castle for the first time, many years ago. A nice small ruin which is often overlooked by visitors of Haut-Kœnigsbourg. I especially like the south facade with its projecting boulders, which look like they were just glued onto it.

Gallery