Alt-Ems, Castle ruin in Hohenems, Austria

Alt-Ems is a castle ruin that sits on a hilltop near Hohenems, containing the remains of a medieval fortress. The site spreads across a substantial area with traces of seven gates, evidence of a drawbridge, and wall sections from numerous chambers that once filled the space.

The Welfs held the castle before it passed to the Staufers in 1179–1191; by the late 12th century it was among the largest fortresses in southern Germany and served as a prison for King William III of Sicily from 1195 and Archbishop Bruno of Cologne from 1206. In 1407, during the Appenzell Wars, it was taken after a two-month siege and destroyed, then rebuilt. Count Kaspar von Hohenems had it expanded from 1566 into a Renaissance fortress to plans by Martino Longhi; after the Hohenems line died out it passed to Austria in 1765 and was auctioned for demolition in 1792.

Since 2014 the ruins have hosted changing art installations: Edgar Büchel's "Eisenartig" (2014), Hubert Lampert's "Blickwinkel" (2015), Arno Egger's "Fürchtet Euch nicht" (2016), Marbod Fritsch's "Biografie" (2017) and Uta Belina Waeger's "155 Schritte ins Paradies?!" (2018). The name Alt-Ems comes from Latin altus, "high", and gave Hohenems its name.

The ruin lies on a narrow rock ridge at 740 m, about 300 m above the Rhine valley, reached from Hohenems via the Schlossberg. The site stretches some 800 m from the Miß rock head over the Burgsattel to the outworks at Gsätzle and Güggenstein, so allow time for the length. The terrain is steep and uneven; sturdy shoes help.

The inner courtyard still holds the Konradsbrunnen, a well linked to local legend. Below the castle, on the open meadow of the Schlossgut, the foundations of the Gasthaus "Zur Burg Altems" remain visible; the inn burned down in 1903. Since 2014 the ruins have hosted a changing art installation each year, among them Uta Belina Waeger's "155 Schritte ins Paradies?!" in 2018.