Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Echéry, located in the Petit Rombach, a hamlet of Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines in the Great East, is now in ruins. Built in the 13th century by the nobles of Echéry, it dominated the valley from a rocky peak 100 meters high, allowing to control the movements of troops. Originally called Belmont Castle, he was also named Haut-Échéry or Alt-Eckerich (the old Échéry). Its strategic location on the old road linking Lorraine and Alsace, built under Pépin le Shorte (750), made it a key point for the defence and exploitation of silver mines.

The lords of Échéry, vassals of the Dukes of Lorraine, played a major role in the region. Their family, powerful and divided into branches like the Waffler, was involved in local conflicts. In 1284 he was assassinated by his cousins, setting off a siege of the castle by the Landvogt of Alsace. The Duke Ferry III of Lorraine then gave custody to the bishop of Strasbourg, then to the lord of Blamont, before the Échéry recovered him. The family died in 1381, leaving the castle to be divided between the Hattstatt (Lorrain fief) and the Rappolstein (Allodial heirs), two lines often in conflict.

In the 14th century, the castle served as a prison and was the scene of quarrels between Alsatian nobles and Lorians. The Hattstatt, an influential family with multiple fiefs, kept half of them until their extinction in 1585. The other half, owned by the Rappolsteins (or Ribeaupierre), was engaged to local lords such as the Waldners or the Uttenheims through settlement contracts. Despite attempts at repair (a estimate of 1586 shows this), the castle was abandoned around 1587, probably ruined by the Thirty Years' War. Its remains, classified in 1898 and declassified in 1932, are now summed up by collapsed walls and a ruined chapel.

The nobles of Shery were buried at the Priory of Lièpvre, where two tombstones in Gothic characters attest to their presence. One, still visible in the church, bears the inscription: "Hie Ligent Die Eckeric und Ruwent In Gottes Friden" ("Here rest the Eckerich in the peace of God"). The architecture of the castle, described by Ernest Blech, included a dungeon protected by five doors, stairs carved from the rock, and a central tank. Found in 1856, the site also revealed traces of its castral chapel, located east of the enclosure.

The decline of the castle accelerated after the sixteenth century. In 1749 he was still serving as a prison for Swiss merchants, before falling into permanent ruin. The chores for his repair, mentioned until 1631, ceased for lack of maintenance. Today, the ruins, invaded by vegetation, overlook the valley of the Petit Rombach at 508 meters above sea level. The access, difficult and unmarked, makes it an unknown site, despite its historical importance in the conflicts between Lorraine, Alsace and Empire.

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