Berwartstein Castle

From a distance, Berwartstein looks like a storybook castle: turrets, a keep and red roofs above the forest near Erlenbach. The more exciting part, though, is inside the rock below. Stairs, passages and chambers are cut straight into the red sandstone, and a well drops vertically through the hill to the groundwater. In the 15th century the castle belonged to a knight who, in a fit of anger, cut off a whole town's water and then flooded it: Hans von Trotha, known locally as Hans Trapp.

History: emperor, abbey and a quarrelsome knight

The castle is first recorded in 1152, when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa gave it to Bishop Günther of Speyer. In the 13th century it was run by a family named after it. Accused of robbery, the Berwartsteiners were besieged for five weeks by troops from Strasbourg and Haguenau, who took the castle. In 1347 the Abbey of Wissembourg bought it for 800 guilders.

In 1480 Elector Philip the Upright gave the castle to his marshal Hans von Trotha. He strengthened it and in 1484 built an outwork with a strong tower opposite, later called “Klein-Frankreich” (Little France). He was constantly at odds with the abbey. When the abbot protested, Trotha dammed the Wieslauter river and cut off the water supply of Wissembourg, about 8 km downstream. After the complaints he had the dam torn down, and the flood wave swamped the town. An imperial ban (1496) and excommunication (1499) followed, which bothered the knight little until his death in 1503. Two years later all penalties were lifted.

In 1590 the castle burned out after a lightning strike and stayed a ruin for 300 years. In 1893 Theodor von Baginski bought it, had it rebuilt within two years, much of it freely reimagined, and lived there from 1899 until his death. Berwartstein is still privately owned and inhabited, the only castle in the Wasgau region that is.

What to see

• Castle well: The shaft, 2 m across, was dug by hand straight down through the rock. Its depth is given as about 100 m, although around 75 m would have been enough to reach groundwater.
• Knights' Hall: The south wall is bare rock with a lift shaft cut into it, used to lower food from the kitchen above. Murals tell the story of the water feud.
• Kitchen, armoury and torture chamber: Fitted out with replicas of medieval equipment; catapults and guns stand outside.
• Underground passages: Part of the tour goes by candlelight through the casemates in the rock.
• Climbing chimney: A narrow, smooth rock tube on the south-east side was once the only way up to the upper castle on the rock, which rises more than 50 m.
• Viewing platform: Just below the top of the keep, the view stretches over the southern Wasgau into Alsace.

Good to know

Hans Trapp lives on: under that name the knight became a figure of local legend. Whether a secret tunnel linked the castle to the Klein-Frankreich outwork 370 m away is pure speculation. The idea arose because a covered ditch disguised with earth was found near the outwork.

Visiting and timing

You can explore the castle with or without a guided tour. Allow one to two hours, longer if you stop to eat. The tour works well for families with children. Note that the castle accepts cash only. Dogs on a lead are welcome. The rock passages involve many steps and narrow stairs, so bear that in mind with small children.

Opening times (as of October 2026)

• 30 March to 1 November 2026: open daily, including public holidays
• 2 November 2026 to 21 March 2027: Saturdays and Sundays
• 26 December 2026 to 3 January 2027: open daily

The castle restaurant has about 130 outdoor seats and serves hot food all day; in winter there is a heated orangery.

Getting there and nearby

Free parking for cars and coaches is available below the castle, a walk of about 5 minutes. Berwartstein lies in the Dahn Rockland, where many castles are built into the rock. The Drachenfels ruin is about 3 km away, and the Dahn castle group of Altdahn, Grafendahn and Tanstein about 5 km. Wissembourg in Alsace, scene of the water feud, is around 8 km downstream.