Château de l'Ortenbourg

Château de l'Ortenbourg is a medieval hilltop ruin perched on a wooded Vosges ridge near Scherwiller, about seven kilometers northwest of Sélestat in Alsace. Built around 1262, the castle changed hands repeatedly throughout the Middle Ages — contested between the bishops of Strasbourg and various noble families — before falling into disrepair in the 17th century. Classified as a French historic monument, its surviving rubble-stone keep and curtain wall fragments are now protected. The forested trail to the summit rewards visitors with sweeping views across the Alsatian Rhine plain, stretching on clear days to the Black Forest.