Nideck Castle

Nideck Castle, locally known as Château du Nideck, lies northeast of the village of Oberhaslach, in the Bas-Rhin department in France.

What we know today as Nideck Castle were actually 2 castles occupying a rocky volcanic ridge in the Hasel valley.

The oldest one, also called Grand-Nideck, left the small masonry remains higher up on the ridge, it was first mentioned in 1262 in a charter, held by the castellan Gunther of Ergersheim later a.k.a. Gunther of Nideck.

The present keep on the lower part of the ridge is the younger castle, also called Petit-Nideck, and was first mentioned in 1336. It was perhaps built following a division of the castle in the 13th or 14th century.

During the 14th and 15th centuries Nideck Castle passed through the hands of several local lords and bishops. It was besieged in 1448 by the people of the city of Strasbourg. Afterwards it came into the hands of the Müllenheim family who held it until 1509.

The lower castle may have been a ruin already since 1454, but the upper castle was probably still used as a residence in 1508. It was finally destroyed by a fire in 1636.

Sadly enough the 20 m high, square keep of the lower castle can not be entered or climbed. The ground floor entrance to the keep is a modern addition. The entrance is crowned by a plaque commemorating the poet Adalbert von Chamisso who wrote a poem about the legend of Nideck, which the Brothers Grimm had written down in their books of folklore. The remains of the upper castle are small and thus difficult to interpret.

At present Nideck Castle can freely be visited. The nearest car park is a ca. 30-min hike over a forest path away. Even though this is a small castle ruin, it attracts a fair amount of visitors because of its location in a beautiful valley and a nice waterfall nearby.

Gallery