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Origin and history

The castle of Engelbourg, built in the 13th century by the Counts of Ferrette, was used to control the Thur valley and to protect a strategic toll. He became a comtal residence before being mentioned with his chapel Sainte-Catherine in 1304. After restorations in the 16th century, it lost its military utility when Alsace was attached to France by the Treaties of Westphalia (1648).

In February 1673 Louis XIV ordered his dismantling, entrusted to the intendant Mathias Poncet de la Rivière. The miners of Giromagny cause the dungeon to collapse, of which a block forms the Eye of the Witch, symbol of the ruins. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1898, the site inspires romantic engravings in the 19th century and has been the subject of excavations and restorations since 2006 by volunteers.

Architecturally, the oval castle (150 x 70 m) on a nipple at 445 m above sea level combines a 13th century dungeon, staggered enclosures, and fire mouths adapted to artillery. The cohesion of its medieval mortars, visible in the Witch's Eye, testifies to advanced construction techniques. The remains also include a defensive aircraft against the guns, which was discovered during recent excavations.

Owned by the municipality of Thann, the ruins are now consolidated thanks to 3D surveys and annual construction sites. The site, linked to the Counts of Ferrette and then to the Habsburgs, illustrates the evolution of the Alsatian fortifications, between seigneurial residence and military bastion, before its systematic destruction under Louis XIV.

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