Castle of Frankenbourg

The Château of Frankenbourg is located on the top of the mountain of the Schlossberg, between Neubois and Vancelle, which culminates with 703 meters. This top which with the shape of a cone was already known good before the construction of the castle the presence of Celtic settlements and a Roman presence. The castle belongs to the commune of Neubois, in the the Low-Rhine.

Localization

It is on the top of Schlossberg (" mountain of the château"), which separates the Val from City of the Val of Lièpvre, that was built the castle of Frankenbourg, whose origin remains unknown, surrounded by any share by the forest. Starting from this top one sees the plain of Alsace, the Val of City, until worms Breitenbach and the valley of the Liepvrette, of which Lièpvre. In this direction, one sees also the mountain of the Chalmont, which culminates with 697 meters. On the right, the Rock of the Cuckoo, shelters a hertzian Relais of Télévision and Radiodiffusion, which serves the area of the Alsace average and the Money Valley. The castle dominates the entry of the valley of Sainte Marie-with-Mines crossed by the road transvosgiennne which ends in Lorraine and which, with the Moyen-âge, represented an strategic interest. It was destroyed by a fire caused by the lightning in 1582. One of old the analyst, Daniel Specklin, affirms that it is Clovis (Clodovig) king of the Francs who built this castle about the fifth century when it made the conquest of the Alsace. It builds this castle on a plate which dominates the two valleys of the Liepvrette and of Villé in order to more easily make sure the passage of its troops of is in west. It named this castle the " castle of Frankenbourg" who wants to say the fortress of the Francs (Burg der Franken). It builds a vault there where Specklin known as to have seen on one of the painted stained glasses which existed still its time the first armorial bearings of the Francs: three black crowns on a money field. According to the legend during battle of Tolbiac that many historians locate at the Kochersberg in the North-West of Strasbourg, Clovis had promised with his wife Clotilde whom it would convert with God of the Chrétiens if this one granted the victory to him. The tradition wants that this promise had been marked with the castle of Frankenbourg. Well before the medieval time, the place where this castle is drawn up today was the subject of constructions. Archaeological discoveries revealed the presence of objects which go back to the Bronze Age. That does not have anything of astonishing when one thinks that the place represented a strategic position and an important bolt to supervise the entry of the two valleys: the Valley of City and the Valley of Lièpvre. The castle of Frankenbourg in its totality was classified historic building on December 6th, 1896. One tells in the valley that between the 1870 and 1873 Holy-Virgin would have appeared on the path where is today a way of cross, a vault and a source in the forest district of Neubois, not far from the castle of Frankenbourg. It would have appeared a hundred times there in front of thousands of people coming sometimes by far.

To go to the castle

When of Sainte Marie-with-Mines one wants to go to the castle of Frankenbourg, one takes initially the Trunk road 59 until the bottom of the village of Lièpvre, then one turns left after having crossed the Liepvrette opposite the Schmidt Kitchens. One follows then the road of Vancelle, then one crosses a forest of pines which carries out to the castle. There does not exist bituminized road which leads to the castle starting from Vancelle. There exists on the other hand a road bituminized starting from Lièpvre and Vancelle which is opened at the motor vehicle traffic only at one certain period of the year and only Sunday. Another bituminized road exists since Breitenau in the Val of City which makes it possible to approach closest to the castle of Frankenbourg, but there too the motor vehicle traffic is open only Sunday to a certain period of the year. The remainder of the driving way to the castle is done in 10 minutes without tiredness. It is just necessary to leave the car and to be parked on the carpark arranged for this purpose, near Schlossplatz (Place of the castle). The ruins of this castle offer nothing any more but one vast empty enclosure, in the form of long square, surrounded by walls the height from 6 to 10 meters. The door is located side Northern and faced the plain of Alsace. Side of the Val of City is the keep which remains rather well preserved in which one still sees a brick vault. This tower has a height 11 meters in diameters and its walls have a 4 meters thickness. In the interior of the enclosure, on the side which faces the Val of Lièpvre one sees leant a wall a staircase hones some very well preserved from 20 to 25 steps which probably led on the first floor. Not far from this staircase and on the same side, about compared to the main door, with ground flower a small crossing with half hidden by the debris is which blocks the entry of it and by which one enjoys a pretty sight on the valley of the Liepvrette.

History

First mention

The evocation of this castle is mentioned the first time officially in 1123 under the name of Frankenbourg through a charter of the emperor Henri IV. This castle is also mentioned on July 4th 1153 when Frederic Ier visited the abbey of Erstein rested by the empress Ermengarde towards 849 village that her husband, the emperor Lothaire Ier had entrusted to him in 817. It is at the time of a treaty between the Bertha abbess and the Margrave Hermann de Bade that Frederic Ier to which assists Sigebert III of Werd, an ally of the Hohenstaufen that the name of Frankenbourg is evoked. It receives the title of count de Frankenbourg towards 1153 of Frederic Barberousse. It held probably also this castle in stronghold of évêché of Strasbourg, of which he had become owner under the terms of a donation made in 1061 by the Landgrave Hermann and his Hilca wife. Towards 1336, Ulric de Werd, Landgrave of Alsace also held it in stronghold of this same évêché and in 1351, the counts Louis and Frederic d' Oettigen accepted it from the emperor Charles IV. The Werd claimed to go down from the duke Etichon as well as the dukes of Lorraine. The year 1411, évêché of Strasbourg to which it belonged, employed 1000 Florin S and in 1447, 2000 guilders with its rebuilding. At this last time it was occupied by wire of Burcard de Lutzelstein whose wire will be subjected to the exile because of the innumerable exactions that they cause. In 1470 the town of Sélestat named a lord of the manor charged to supervise the castle in preparation for a possible attack of the troops bourguignones.

The pagan wall

There exists a wall, known as pagan, surrounding the castle of Frankenbourg on the three sides, with approximately 150 meters below the last walls. Thus baptized by the pope Leon IX, which considered that it was former to the Christian era. This wall is on the western slope of the Schlossberg, a little low than the castle. On the slope Is, it does not remain no trace. This wall has a certain resemblance to that of the Mont Sainte-Odile, but resembles of nothing that the Taennchel, however distant of ten kilometers. The construction of the pagan wall of Frankenbourg, like its assembly, comprise dovetail formed considerable blocks. Its thickness is of 1,80 m, its width 0,60 to 0,90 m, and its height 0,50 to 0.70 Mr. the majority of the specialists think that this wall goes back to the end at the iron age, perhaps the Tène (480 before Jesus Christ). According to the Limonite found on the spot, it could acts of an semi-artisanal, semi-cultural place protected (as with the Camp of the Frieze to Saint-Dié). Excavations will have to still confirm this assumption. The techniques, employed by its builders, tip the scales in favor of this time. It can also concern the time Gallo-Roman, in particular because of the characteristic which the builders of the time had, to burst the rocks by iron corners. Copper coins, representative Constantin Ier (272-337), were discovered in this place, in 1926, by Robert Forrer, which makes it possible to think that the Romans remained at this place. Lastly, the use of dovetails, out of wood, also was largely used during the Roman period. Other archeologists think, on the contrary, that the wall could be built at the time the top Moyen-âge, during the reign of the duke of Alsace Aldaric and of its descendants. They are based according to the analysis of wood glares, found on the spot. Only the slopes north and south of Schlossberg preserved sections of the wall. In its southern part, it follows a practically rectilinear line, which goes up soft inclined. The wall is also melted in important rocks, which are on the spot. Later, towards the the Middle Ages, of many stones of the pagan wall will be probably used to build the castle of Frankenbourg. This protohistoric enclosure was classified historic building on September 10th, 1990.

The counts de Frankenbourg

One generally knows in Alsace the castle of Frankenbourg which dominates the entry of the two valleys of Lièpvre and Villé, but one hardly knows the counts and the county of this name. If the historians make mention of it, it is only under the title of Count de Werd that took the last of them. The name of Frankenbourg is quoted for the first time in a charter of the emperor Henri V, given to Strasbourg on January 26th 1123 for the convent of Alpirsbach which is in the Wurtemberg. Among the witnesses of this act and following the count Hugo de Dagsbourg, Folmar de Hünebourg, Guillaume de Lützelbourg, Frederic of Saarbrucken (Saraburc), we meet the count Conrad de Frankenbourg (Franconeburc). But which was this Conrad? The lack of documents does not make it possible to refine this question. It is probably related to the counts de Sarrebrück, who were of origin alascian. The second in title of the name of Frankenbourg which is in possession of the county is the Count Sigebert. The first time that one finds the name of Sigebert in Alsace is in a document of September 21st 1109 of the Cunon bishop of Strasbourg in favor of the priory of Saint-Léonard close to Börsch. In this part, it is mentioned the count very short Sigebert. However, this Sigebert was count de Sarrebruck, grandson of first known Sigebert, with which Henri VI, on the prayer of the Duc of Lorraine, had made gift into 1080 of Wadgassen in Sarregau. This Sigebert was being like the duke Thierry and the duke Frederic de Hohenstaufen of the party of the emperor against the pope. This Sigebert which is count in the Sarregau in Franconie (area of Saarbrucken) had goods of the time of the count Adalbert of Lorraine or Alsace, brother of Gerard of Alsace (or Gerard Ier of Lorraine), Lorraine branch of the dukes or counts d' Alsace. One can thus admit that he is the direct or indirect heir counts to Alsace in Lorraine. One of its two sons, Winither, became abbot of Lorsch, of which it conferred the richest good on Brumath, in stronghold with his Sigehart brother or Sigebert II of Saarbrucken. It is of this time that date the prosperity of the family. The wire of Sigebert II are well-known in the history. Most famous, Adalbert, was archbishop of Mainz (1111 - 1137) and chancellor of the empire under Henri V. Bruno became abbot of Lorsch and in 1110 bishop of Spire, then Sigebert III and Frederic which expressly bear the name of counts of Saarbrucken.

The Count-Round of applause of Frankenbourg

This county, more known under the name of Count-Round of applause, forms the southern part of the the least fertile Val of the City because she is leant with the northern slope of the mountains, which separate the valley from Lièpvre of that of Villé. It is composed of the villages of Fouchy (in the past called Grube), Breitenau, New-Church (Neukirch), Hirtzelbach, Dieffenbach-with-Valley and Neubois (Gereuth). The Val of City could have belonged as a whole to only one and even family. According to the tradition this family could be the descendants of the duke Attich. One is unaware of completely when separation was done. But according to the origin of the name of the village Neukirch and of what is known valley, it should not have taken place before the XIe century. In consequence of its exposure, the Count-Round of applause should have been delivered to the culture and the exploitation only well after the county of Ortemberg. One knows the counts d' Ortemberg with the XIe century. They are the founders of the Abbaye of Honcourt. Their possessions were transmitted in consequence of marriage to the count, then with the emperor Rodolphe de Habsbourg. As already announced higher, the first known count of Frankenbourg one is named Conrad in 1123. It is not known if it went down from the Ortembourg. Or was this perhaps a small son of Hildegarde mother of the first of Staufen, by the brother of this last, Conrad already died in 1095? It is possible that his/her sister or her daughter was the wife of a count of Saarbrucken, and this last would not be whereas Sigebert II.
Property of the Counts de Werd, it becomes in 1232 a stronghold of the church of Strasbourg.
In 1359, the bishop of Strasbourg repurchased the grounds and the castle of Frankenbourg and entrusts the administration to the Counts de Lénange vassal of the church of Strasbourg, which becomes thus Landgrave of low-Alsace. But in front of the financial problems, it had to be deprived of an important part of the goods which it had accumulated, of which the castle and villages of Fouchy, Breitenau, Hirtzelbach, Dieffenbach-with-Valley, Neubois and New-Church and later also Châtenois. They are the canons of the Grand Chapter of the Cathedral of Strasbourg and the town of Sélestat which became purchasers. The transaction was made on October 25th, 1462 for a sum of 8002 Florins. The Great Chapter of the Cathedral of Strasbourg took an option for 2000 guilders, the town of Sélestat brought 4000 guilders and two brothers, Jacques and Bernard Wurmser shared 2000 guilders. In 1483 the chapter of the cathedral of Strasbourg repurchased the vast real and forest inheritance of Frankenbourg and became thus the true Master of the Count-Round of applause until the Révolution.

Places and monuments

The protohistoric enclosure of Frankenbourg is classified historic building since September 10th, 1990 whereas the castle of Frankenbourg is classified since December 6th, 1896.

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