Wangenbourg Castle

Wangenbourg Castle is a ruined castle in Vanjanburg-Engantal, France, located on a rocky promontory, in the forests, southeast of the village of Vanjanburg. It was built in the XIII century by Lords Vanjan on the site of the old castle. The fortress was first mentioned in 1357. In the fourteenth century, the Vanjeans lost control of their castle and were no longer able to maintain it, centuries later the castle was destroyed.

In 1504, the Roman Emperor Maximilian I took the castle into his possession, and in 1516 the building was transferred to the Archbishop of Strasbourg. However, the descendants of von Vanjanov, Georg and Hartmann, continued to occupy the castle. Since 1578, the archbishops of Strasbourg and Vanjan have disputed the ownership of the castle. In 1680 the castle was occupied by French troops. In 1702 it became a ruin.

The restoration of the castle began in the early XX century and continued in 1931. The pedestrian bridge was built in 1961 to replace the old drawbridge. The castle was listed as a Historic Monument in 1898 and is now privately owned.