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Ortenbourg Castle

Ortenbourg Castle

Highlight • Castle

Ortenbourg Castle

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Location: Scherweiler, Schlettstadt-Erstein, Alsace, France

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Kristian

August 21, 2025

Hiking

At the end of the ridge, at an altitude of 443 meters, lies Ortenbourg Castle, built between 1260 and 1265 by Rudolf Habsburg and one of the most beautiful ruins in the Rhine Valley. A masterpiece of military architecture, with its high gorge surrounding a 32-meter-long dungeon, it is visible from afar and blends perfectly into the landscape. This dungeon offered six levels of defensive fire, and its pentagonal design allowed for better deflection of attackers' projectiles. The recently founded association "Les sentinelles de l'Ortenbourg" (Ortenbourg Sentinels) aims to preserve, expand, and revitalize the castle.

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July 10, 2018

Hiking

The castle Ortenberg (French Château de l'Ortenbourg) is a medieval castle ruin near Scherwiller in Alsace ...

Ortenberg is considered the highlight and ideal type of early Gothic castle construction in Alsace. The Kernburg rises on a granite rock, which is separated by a deep neck trench from the massif of the Knights Mountain. Directly above the ditch are the 18-meter-high, multi-kinked and pierced by loopholes mantle wall and the immediately behind it placed 30-meter-high, pentagonal keep the potential attacker against ...

Source: Wikipedia

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Lilo

July 26, 2020

Hiking

Not only the castle ruins are very impressive, the view over the Rhine valley, Kaiserstuhl and the Black Forest is also terrific!

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Nearby routes

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Ortenbourg and Bernstein Castles Loop

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Hike a moderate 8.2-mile loop from Scherwiller to explore three medieval castles and the impressive Rocher du Falkenstein in the Vosges moun

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#2.

Bernstein Castle – Ortenbourg Castle loop from Dambach-la-Ville

13.6km

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Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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#3.