the perfect start to our Christmas wonderland holiday... a fairytale castle, crystal icicles and snow. Chateau du Haut Koenigsbourg (High King's Castle) was original built in 1147 and its past personifies the history of the region, with ownership tranferring back and forth between the Hapsburg empire and favoured royal houses... depending on who was best placed to manitain and occupy the strategically localed castle... it progressively fell into ruin over hundreds of years, until Williem II restored it completely at the end of the 19th century during the years after the French-Prussian wars when Alsace was lost to the French. The restoration was a sophisticated form of PR for the day, and was designed to curry favour and prodcue work for the local people.... The restoration costs millions, even in those days, and a source of some satification for the French when the fully restored castle (along with the Alsace!) was returned to them not long after following WWI
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That is one of the best photos of Haut Koenigsbourg that I've ever seen...
Wow...
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