Castle Woerth

Today the Château de Woerth is the Mairie and a museum. In 1307 Wernher de Bolanden, provost of Saint-Victor, Mainz, and Otto de Bolanden officer of the Empire made a gift of the Castle of Woerth to their nephew Frédéric de Kirberg. The castle, including the keep that is still standing, must have been built at an earlier time. In 1308 the new owner sold the castle to Jean I of Lichtenberg, nephew of the Conrad and Frédéric, bishops of Strasbourg. At the death of Jacques de Lichtenberg in 1480 the castle and the surrounding lands passed to the husband of his niece Catherine de Honstein, the Count of Deux-Ponts-Bitche. The smaller west wing, with its gothic door surround is perhaps slightly older than the main wing, which is one of the first examples of renaissance architecture in Alsace. The building to the north of the chateau also dates from the middle of the 16th Century and contained the cellars of the castle (No. 10 rue du Moulin). In 1570 Jacques de Deux-Ponts-Bitche died and the castle and surrounding lands passed to his son in law, Philippe V of Hanau-Lichtenberg. After the Thirty Years War the castle was restored by the Countess Dorothée-Diane, who stayed there on several occasions. In 1688 a fire destroyed the apartments on the first floor which was again restored. In 1736, on the death of Jean-René of Hanau, the castle passed to his son in law Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt. His son restored the keep in 1758 and then the roof with an extended split pitch roof. At the time of the revolution the castle was sold off in several lots. The main wing and the garden went to Jean-Daniel Trautmann, the maire. The smaller wing was purchased by the Loos family who sold it on to Louis Sadaoul the doctor of the Canton. Maurice Trautmann restored the structure in 1925, adding an exterior staircase and a neo renaissance doorway. He extended the building to the north and converted the outbuildings into living accommodation. The old cellars became the house for the nuns and are now a youth hostel. In 1977 the building was purchased by the commune and now houses the mairie and social services.