First Episcopal Castle XIIIe siècle (fin) (≈ 1384)
Initial construction, restored around 1400.
1575
Renaissance Gate
Renaissance Gate 1575 (≈ 1575)
The only remaining vestige today.
XVIe siècle
Construction of the second castle
Construction of the second castle XVIe siècle (≈ 1650)
Residence of the Bishops of Strasbourg.
1694
Destruction of the first castle
Destruction of the first castle 1694 (≈ 1694)
Ordered by the Bishop of Strasbourg.
1811
Sales to tobacco control
Sales to tobacco control 1811 (≈ 1811)
Start of industrial transformation.
1853
Destruction of the main body
Destruction of the main body 1853 (≈ 1853)
Former shaved tobacco shop.
20 décembre 1988
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 20 décembre 1988 (≈ 1988)
Protection of the Renaissance Gate.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Renaissance gate (Case D 351): inscription by order of 20 December 1988
Key figures
Georg Huber - Master mason
Author of the wing added in 1712.
Origin and history
The Episcopal Castle of Benfeld, located on 3 rue du Château, is an emblematic 16th century monument in the Lower Rhine. This building, now partially disappeared, was originally a place of residence for the bishops of Strasbourg. It was built to replace a first episcopal castle dating from the late 13th century, restored around 1400 and demolished in 1694. The second castle, erected east of the first, was itself deeply transformed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with restorations in 1626 and 1700, as well as an extension in 1712 by master mason Georg Huber.
In 1811, the castle was sold to the tobacco control, and its main body, used as a store, was destroyed in 1853. The wing added in the 18th century disappeared in 1879 during the piercing of the rue du Château. Today, there is only one Renaissance pedestrian gate, dated 1575, built into a fence wall. This gate, classified as a historical monument by decree of 20 December 1988, is the only visible testimony of this episcopal heritage.
The site, owned by the municipality of Benfeld, is located in an area whose geographical accuracy is estimated to be fair (level 5/10). Its history reflects the architectural and political transformations of the region, marked by successive ecclesiastical and industrial influences.
