Located in the municipality of Dambach-la-Ville, Bas-Rhin, the castle Bernstein is an ancient castle set on a granite peak to over 560 meters. Built in the twelfth century and listed historic monument, it is one of the oldest fortresses in Alsace.
Originally property of the counts of Eguisheim-Dabo, he joined the treasury of the bishopric of Strasbourg in the thirteenth century. Looted and burned by the Swedes in the seventeenth century, it is then sold as national property during the French Revolution.
The castle ruins that still stand proudly today are entirely of granite, and one can still find three distinct parts with the castle top, bottom castle and outworks. Passing by the site, visitors admire the pentagonal keep and a Romanesque tower, the stately home, or weep holes, a courtyard, a bastion and a garden.
