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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of the Counts of Montbéliard-Württemberg, located in Riquewihr in the Haut-Rhin, was built between 1539 and 1540 by Georges de Württemberg-Montbéliard on the site of an ancient castle fort of the lords of Horbourg, now disappeared. The Renaissance-style building features remarkable elements such as a polygonal staircase turret, coat of arms dated 1540, and an original frame with dovetail assemblies. A neo-Renaissance slab of 1904 commemorates the birth of Count Ulrich of Württemberg in 1487 in the old castle.

In 1555, the castle hosted the wedding of Count Georges with Barbara de Hesse. Between 1558 and 1560, the recipient's house (or graft) was added, including a seigneurial cellar with a door dated 1549. The monument, neglected in the 17th and 18th centuries, was restored between 1752 and 1756 by architect Antoine Schrotz to become an administrative center. Sold as national property in 1794, the castle and its outbuildings were partially acquired by the town in the 19th century to install a school.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1900, the castle underwent major restorations in 1900 (back to its 17th century appearance inspired by a Merian engraving) and in 1970 to house the museum of history of the P.T.T... The room of knights, Renaissance windows and original elements (posts dated 1717, frame) were then highlighted. Medieval outbuildings, missing, have given way to modern constructions.

The architecture of the castle reflects its evolution: crenellated gables, oriel on the courtyard side, and various decorations on the bays. The out-of-work stair turret houses a helical silt staircase. A stone on the north side commemorates the birth in 1750 of Marie Caroline de Flachsland, wife of poet Herder. The site, a communal property, today bears witness to five centuries of Alsatian history, between seigneurial power, administrative life and cultural heritage.

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