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Origin and history

Wingersheim Les Quatre Bans Castle, also known as Mittelhausen Castle, is a historic monument whose current remains date mainly from the 14th, 16th and 19th centuries. It was initially surrounded by ditches filled with water (Wasserburg), typical of medieval defensive constructions in Alsace. The remains visible today include the exterior walls of a house, a square tower, a partially rebuilt round tower, as well as architectural elements such as murderers, door windows and vaulted cellars. The site was destroyed, especially during the Thirty Years' War, before being partially renovated to farm and manor.

As a fief of the noble family of Mittelhausen, the castle was certified in 1457 and then passed to the Counts of Moers-Saarverdent, then to the Nassau-Saarbrücken family after 1527. In 1697 the Flach family became the owner and built a body of passage there in 1749, while a house was added in 1827 by a descendant named Melsheimer. The remains, including the facades and roofs of the remaining tower, were listed as historical monuments in 1984. A dendrochronological analysis revealed an earlier occupation of the site between 1190 and 1205 although no visible traces of the site remain.

Architecturally, the castle combines medieval defensive elements (murder, ditches, corner towers) and posterior additions, such as 16th-century sill windows or the 1726 frame. The western tower, partially preserved, has successive changes, while the main house is more than ruin, keeping only its exterior walls in limestone bellows. The pink sandstone angle chains and the old crow-shaped soles bear witness to local construction techniques. The site, divided into two distinct properties, illustrates the evolution of a medieval fortress into a residential and agricultural complex.

The castle was damaged several times, notably by a fire in 1610 during the passage of Catholic troops, then during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), which reduced it to ruin. After 1672 he belonged to the Wittersheim family before being acquired by the Flach. The present, though fragmentary, remains offer an overview of the transformations of the Alsatian castles between the Middle Ages and the modern era. The registration of historic monuments in 1984 preserved these traces of a regional architectural and seigneurial heritage.

The location of the castle, at 9 Rue du Château in Wingersheim les Quatre Bans (formerly Mittelhausen), in the Lower Rhine, makes it a witness to the feudal and post-medieval history of Alsace. Its present state, between ruins and partial reconstructions, reflects the hazards of its history, marked by changes in owners, conflicts and functional adaptations. The ditches, although partially closed, recall its initial role as a fortress controlling a rural territory.

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