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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Mutzig Castle, originally built after 1429 by Wirich Puller of Hohenbourg, was a strategic issue in the 15th century. In 1454 the city was taken by the allies of the archbishop of Mainz, and the castle, partially ceded to Strasbourg, changed hands several times before being completely rebuilt between 1673 and 1680 by the bishop of Strasbourg. It became an episcopal residence, especially for Louis-René de Rohan in the 18th century.

Sold as a national property in 1793, the castle will house a gun factory in December of the same year. In 1804 it was acquired by Jacques Coulaux, who made it a residence for the leaders of his gun factory, active until 1870. After its acquisition by the commune in 1962, it was restored in 1986 to become a socio-cultural centre and museum, while preserving architectural elements of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The architecture of the castle, from plan to U with square towers and stair turrets, reflects its successive transformations. The facades and roofs, protected since 1976, combine 17th-century irregular corner chains with 18th-century beautifications, such as chambranle windows. A chapel, built in the 18th century and destroyed in 1942, once completed the whole. The moat and the Bruche Canal recall its medieval origin in Wasserburg.

The castle illustrates the evolution of a medieval fortress as an episcopal residence, then as an industrial and cultural site. Its history is marked by local conflicts (war between the Puller and the Archbishop of Mainz), reconstructions linked to the bishops of Strasbourg, and an economic vocation during the Revolution and the Empire. Today, it symbolizes Alsatian heritage, between military memory and community life.

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