Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle

One dark, cold and wintry Saturday afternoon we decided to go visit a castle. You never know, we could find the Holy Grail? Or if not the Grail then some French knights.

In our Swiss cultural class one recommendation was Haut-Koenigsbourg so off we went. On our arrival we powered up the hill in our BMW until the parking spaces ran out and then it was on foot to the base of the castle. Walking about 300m was enough calorie consuming activity to put the kids into a purple minion mode. So hot beverages and a pastry or hotdog was essential before raiding the castle above.

Having staved off the purple minion invasion we bought our tickets and headed in!

We discovered how they kept the place so spotless that James Dyson would have been impressed!

Into the cellars and kitchen first before heading onwards and upwards!

Now we moved around the dining rooms and bedrooms.

Cool to note the heating system was chimneys and tile covered stacks.

Onwards to the top where they had the defenses set up. They had a range of different sized canons. I didn't see any catapults for flinging cows or chickens! What a shame!

The drop was quite large and I could not imagine anyone scaling the walls. Ryan noted that there were gaps in the floor at the edges so a person against the wall at the bottom or clambering up it could be spotted from the inside. Hayley is standing on the grate covering those gaps when peering out and looking down.

Ryan and Hayley also seemed particularly interested in the armory too!

Crossbows were in heavy use at this time in Switzerland in particular. We got the William Tell story earlier in the week about the Swiss marksmanship using these weapons. I think the French were more open to using anything to hand.

Lots of great views across the top of the castle in every direction.

Strategic was an obvious location choice. On a clear day you can see the Alps too. The castle was very clearly visible from the villages down in the valley and looked quite imposing.

Looking at a lot of restoration photos of the whole place was very impressive as we toured around. It was mostly done around early 1900s at the behest of Kaiser Willhelm II.

They did an amazing job.

Ryan loved the use of drawbridges for the entrances. They are in wonderful condition and still look like they are used regularly.

Here are some interesting architectural elements we picked out specifically.

Ryan and Hayley were so badly behaved we found the stocks and made them let us take photos!

For everyone who would like to investigate and know more details about the castle or plan their own visit see the following link