Schirmeck Castle

Schirmeck Castle, locally known as Château de Schirmeck, lies above the village with the same name, in the Bas-Rhin department in France.

Schirmeck Castle was built in the beginning of the 13th century. During the Thirty Years' War, in 1633, it was destroyed by the Swedes and remained a ruin. In 1705 the French started to rebuild the castle but finally abandoned the project. In the second part of the 18th century the local council used stones from the castle ruin to build the tower of the village church. The locals then quickly followed the example and used the ruin as a quarry for the construction of their houses. The castle almost completely disappeared.

In 1969 the local council had the present 'castle' built, probably for touristic purposes. I don't know how much they followed the original design. The rebuilt keep was then taken into use as a small museum about the castle and local history. The museum however was closed in 2013.

At present Schirmeck Castle can freely be visited. It's only a 10-min hike up the mountain from the village. Sadly enough the keep is closed but there is a great view over the village and the valley. Although this is a 20th century remake of a castle ruin, I still like it.

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