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Origin and history

The castle of Pflixbourg, built in the first quarter of the 13th century (c. 1212-1219) by Emperor Frederick II, is a strategic fortress located on the Ehrberg in Wintzenheim (High Rhine). Designed as a garrison castle, it had the task of monitoring the Munster valley, protecting Colmar and serving as a support point for imperial ost. Its homogeneous architecture, including a 23-metre cylindrical dungeon (bergfried) and a 140-metre tank, reflects the standards of the imperial castles of the time, such as those of Kaysersberg or Hohlandsbourg.

The Pflixbourg lost its military role after the construction of the Hohlandsbourg by the Habsburgs in 1279, becoming a seigneurial fief several times engaged in the 14th century. Abandoned in the middle of the 15th century without ever being attacked, he passed into the hands of the Hattstatt families, Haus d'Issenheim, then Ribeaupierre before being definitively abandoned. The site, which was listed as a historic monument in 1968, underwent major restorations in 1864, 1980s and 2006-2008.

The castle is distinguished by rare architectural peculiarities, such as its corridor door (unique in Alsace) and a developed water supply system, including an external sump connected to the tank by a hollow road. Archaeological excavations have invalidated ancient assumptions, such as protohistoric occupation or destruction by siege around 1450. Its dungeon, stylistically close to Kaysersberg, and its defensive ditches make it a remarkable example of medieval castral engineering.

During the First World War, the site was fortified by the German army in 1915 to lock the Munster Valley, although the fighting spared the castle. Modern restorations preserved its remains, including the courtine, the interior buildings backed by the enclosure, and the vaulted tank in a broken cradle. The Pflixbourg thus testifies to the evolution of military and seigneurial strategies in Alsace between the 13th and 15th centuries.

The geographical context reveals a remote location of the major roads of the Middle Ages, questioning the traditional theories of its vocation to protect communication routes. Recent research, including the 2010 surveys and the lidar analyses, has clarified its role in the local life network and its link with the priory Saint-Gilles, whose land it partially controlled. The disappeared village of Hausen, mentioned in medieval sources, remains, however, unlocalized despite archaeological investigations.

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