Top 17 Castles around Zabern

Although the few remaining ruins of this structure are called a castle, it appears that the site was first used as a Roman temple and then as a Christian church. Nearby are superb rock formations typical of the Northern Vosges Mountains.

Unfortunately, the iron ladder at the Petit Ochsenstein was dismantled 😢

The Château des Rohan, formerly called "The Little Alsatian Versailles," is located in the city center of Saverne on the Rhine-Marne Canal. This former bishop's castle, built in the 13th century and restored in the 19th century on the initiative of Napoleon III, now houses a museum, a cultural center, a youth hostel, and a school. The neoclassical façade (park side), made of pink sandstone, is 140 meters long, which is the same horizontal height as Strasbourg Cathedral. The Château des Rohan Museum presents extensive Gallo-Roman and medieval archaeological collections. It consists of three departments: Art and History, Louise Weiss, and Archaeology. The Art and History department encompasses many areas: paintings, prints, and 15th- and 16th-century polychrome wood carvings from the churches of Saverne and the region, as well as a room dedicated to the history of the castle. Louise Weiss Department To honor her Alsatian ties (her family originally came from Petite-Pierre near Saverne), journalist Louise Weiss (1893-1983) donated her collections (ethnographic objects, paintings, drawings, 19th- and 20th-century decorative arts, and personal archives) to the Saverne Museum in 1981 and 1983. Archaeological Department In the vaulted cellars of the castle, the museum houses a rich archaeological collection, including numerous Gallo-Roman funerary and votive steles. Tours of the museum and access to the castle roof are available (upon request). Admission (museum + roof access): €5 (adults) and €4 (students)

Unfortunately, the stairs up to the observation tower are closed. At least, that was the case today, September 17, 2025. However, I expect this closure to last longer. Nevertheless, the structure is worth seeing.

Elongated rock castle above the Zorn valley, southwest of Saverne. After a varied history, it has been state property for approx. 150 years. Varied structures from different eras in the inner courtyard. Great view over the Rhine valley and the northern Vosges.

A large neoclassical palace from the late 18th century, especially in relation to the relatively small town. Located at the lower end of the old town, it has a large park at the rear, facing the Rhine-Marne Canal. The palace now belongs to the city and houses two museums, a primary school, a youth hostel, and several theaters and event venues. The varied history of its use is interesting; details can be found online: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohan-Schloss

Very beautiful places in the calm of the forest

Sights: The former abbey church of St. Peter and Paul, founded around 720, belonged to one of the oldest monasteries on the Upper Rhine. In its early years, this was led by Saint Pirminius, among others. The church is one of the most artistically valuable and stylistically diverse in Alsace. It has a Carolingian crypt (8th century), Romanesque chapels (11th century), a choir and a transept in the transitional style to Gothic (late 12th century), a purely Gothic nave (13th century) and a classicist façade with a tower (1768). The remains of the monastery building (chapter house, one wing of the cloister) are of Gothic style (13th century). The furnishings are very rich (medieval gravestones and the Adelphus carpets from around 1470 with depictions of the life and miraculous work of St. Adelphus of Metz in the chapels; baptismal font, pulpit, Adelphus shrine, organ, Holy Sepulchre in the nave). The portals and rose windows are also remarkably designed and decorated. Archaeological remains of other buildings of the monastery complex can be seen to the north of the church. The now Protestant church of St. Adelphus was built between 1200 and 1225 in the transitional style from Romanesque to Gothic. It impresses with its powerful west facade and its simple interior. The choir of the church, which until then contained the reliquary and the Adelphus carpets depicting the life of St. Adelphus of Metz, was demolished in the 19th century and replaced by a flat wall. The Herrenstein Castle (ruin) was built at the beginning of the 13th century by the Counts of Dagsburg. In the 16th century it was converted into a fortress by the Alsatian military architect Daniel Specklin. Former synagogue, built in 1875, and Jewish cemetery, established in 1877