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Froeschwiller Castle dans le Bas-Rhin

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château
Bas-Rhin

Froeschwiller Castle

    21 Rue Principale
    67360 Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Château de Froeschwiller
Crédit photo : © Ralph Hammann - Wikimedia Commons - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1400
1500
1800
1900
2000
XIVe siècle
Feudal origin
vers 1850
Reconstruction in villa
1890
Major transformation
1891
Completion of dependencies
2009
Historical Monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The estate of the castle in total: the castle, all the buildings of the communes with kennel and stake, the well and fountain of the courtyard of the communes, the fences and their grids, the landscaped park with factories and statuary, the vegetable garden with its greenhouses and fences (ca. 01 33): classification by decree of 29 September 2009

Key figures

Ferdinand de Durckheim - Prefect of the Upper Rhine and owner Reconstructs the castle around 1850 in villa
Albert de Durckheim - Heir and sponsor Change the castle in 1890 with von Seidl
Eugénie Haniel - Owner and wife of Albert Initials on the cochère door, remarried to the Earl of Holnstein
Emanuel von Seidl - Munich architect Designs the transformation of 1890 (turn, broken roof)

Origin and history

The Froeschwiller Castle, located at 21 Main Street in Froeschwiller (Bas-Rhin), is a building classified as a Historic Monument since 2009. Built in the last quarter of the 19th century, it is distinguished by its eclectic architecture: a main body on one floor with carved fronton windows, a wrought iron balcony, and an octagonal tower with an arrow. A hip roof outbuilding and a doorhouse, decorated with medallions to the initials of the owners (Albert de Durckheim and Eugénie Haniel), complete the ensemble. The entrance grille, particularly designed, incorporates floral motifs and volutes.

The present castle replaces an old seigneurial residence attested since the 14th century, owned by the Eckbrecht family of Durckheim, vassal of the bishop of Strasbourg. Around 1850 Ferdinand de Durckheim, prefect of the Haut-Rhin, had the castle rebuilt in the form of a rectangular villa with balcony. In 1890 his son Albert, assisted by the Munich architect Emanuel von Seidl, undertook a major transformation: the addition of a broken roof with skylights, a tower-belvedere, and a second building connected by a low arch passage. The outbuildings, dated 1891, bear the coat of arms of the Durckheim.

After World War II, the estate left the Durckheim-Holnstein family (Eugénie Haniel, widow of Albert, having remarried to the Earl of Holnstein) to move to private owners. The 2009 ranking protects the entire estate: castle, commons (kennel, stake, well), landscaped park with factories, and vegetable garden with its greenhouses. The ensemble illustrates the evolution of an Alsatian seigneurial residence, marked by German architectural influences of the late 19th century.

The site retains traces of successive developments, such as the owners' initials on the cochère door or the coat of arms of the Durckheim on the outbuildings. The family, linked to Froeschwiller since the Middle Ages, left a lasting imprint, mixing feudal heritage and bourgeois modernity. Today, the castle remains a testimony of local history and the art of living of the Alsatian elites at the hinge of the 19th and 20th centuries.

External links