Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Schlössle, or ancient noble court of the Rathsamhausen, is a small mansion located in Katzenthal, in the Upper Rhine (Great East). Dated from the last quarter of the 16th century with reshuffles in the 18th century, it represents a characteristic example of the architecture of Alsatian wine manors. The building survived the bombings of the winter 1944-1945, making it the oldest building still standing in the village. Its history remains partially blurred, but architectural elements such as the date of 1595 engraved on the staircase turret attest to its reborn origin.

The Rathsamhausen family, having abandoned their castle of Wineck, would have acquired and rebuilt this mansion in 1595, as indicated by the inscription on the door of the turret. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the estate belonged to François Guillaume de Thanvillé, before being sold in 1632 to Joseph Lichtemberger, with its outbuildings (grange, stable, vineyards and forests). The house body was modernized in the 18th century, as evidenced by segment arched bays, ground doors, parquet floors and stunned roofing in the rococo style. Two 18th-century murals, depicting rural scenes and a view of the Priory of the Three Epis, still remain.

The castle consists of a main house, a polygonal turret with a screw staircase decorated with Renaissance motifs, and wine-growing outbuildings (former coopery, distillery, and domestic rooms). The barn, dated 1574, even precedes the reconstruction of the mansion. Ranked a historic monument in 1990, the Schlössle illustrates the architectural evolution of Alsatian noble residences, linked to wine-growing activity. Today, the housing estate is shared between two owners, while the renovated outbuildings are still used for a winery.

Among the protected elements are the facades, the roofs, the staircase in front of the turret, two rooms on the ground floor with their studded decorations, as well as the murals on the first floor. The latter offer a visual testimony of the state of the estate in the eighteenth century, supplemented by an oil painting today preserved in Paris. The site, although partially altered by modern additions, remains a rare vestige of the seigneurial and winemaking history of Alsace.

External links