A big thanks goes out for very friendly Dominique who sends me this wonderful postcard of this even more wonderful castle called le château du haut-Kœnigsbourg in French. This is the the 4th postcard to reach me thanks to this blog which makes me rather happy! A nice postcard of the Netherlands will be heading Dominique's way real soon :) About the stamp, it shows an Outarde-canepetière (Little Bustard - Tetrax Tetrax) issued in 2012.
Since its construction in the 12th century, the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle has been a constant witness to both European conflicts and rivalry between lords, kings and emperors.
A number of illustrious owners each left their mark on the castle’s history, and successive events even led to changes in the castle’s structure…
The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. Taufenberg, as it was called at the time, sat high above the Alsace plain at an altitude of more than 700 metres. This rocky, promontory site was ideal for observing the main routes in the region, and provided a strategic fall-back point. The fortress changed its name to Koenigsbourg (royal castle) in around 1192.
The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Habsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire. This was the golden period for the Hohkoenigsbourg ("Hoh" meaning… "High"!). [source: official site]
Thank you very much Dominique!/Merci beaucoup Dominique! Une bonne année pour vous aussi.
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