Nouveau-Windstein Castle

Nouveau-Windstein Castle, locally known as Château du Nouveau-Windstein or Burg Neuwindstein, lies above the village of Windstein, in the Bas-Rhin department in France. This area is also known as the Northern Alsace or the Middle Vosges.

At the beginning of the 13th century, the lords of Windstein yielded land overlooking the Schwartzbach valley, located below their castle of Windstein, to Neubourg Abbey to build a castle. That new castle became known as Nouveau-Windstein ('New-Windstein') or Vorderwindstein ('Anterior Windstein'). The original Windstein castle then got the denomination Vieux-Windstein ('Old-Windstein') or Hinterwindstein ('Posterior Windstein'). 

During the 14th century the castle was the joint property of the lords of Windstein, Wolxheim and Dùrkheim, until the 1390s when the Bishop of Speyer became the sole owner of the entire castle.

A castral peace treaty concluded in 1419 mentioned a garrison of 5 men in the castle.

From the 2nd half of the 17th century the castle was the sole possession of the Lords of Dürkheim. In 1676, during the Franco-Dutch War, Nouveau-Windstein Castle was destroyed by the French royal troops. It was never rebuilt.

The castle was built on a big rock of sandstone. It consists of a keep with a powerful shield wall and a lower ward with a round barbican, which was added in the 16th century.

Nouveau-Windstein Castle is freely accessible. A great castle ruin. Vieux-Windstein Castle is of course nearby.

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