Château du Bernstein, Medieval castle in Dambach-la-Ville, France.

Château du Bernstein is a ruined fortress built entirely of granite on a two-level granite ridge at 562 metres above sea level, above Dambach-la-Ville. Its upper castle, the oldest and best-preserved part, holds a pentagonal keep about 16 to 18 metres high, a cistern, a two-storey hall with nine windows and two loopholes in its south wall, and a Romanesque chapel tower that housed the Chapel of Saint Margaret. A barbican links it to the lower castle, where a 15th-century gate tower with loopholes stands.

The fortress was built in the early 11th century and first belonged to the Counts of Eguisheim-Dabo. In 1227 it was captured by the Bishop of Strasbourg through siege, after which it came under new control.

The name derives from a legend that the castle was built on the rock where a family of bears lived: Bernstein, or Bärenstein, literally means bear rock, from Bär (bear) and Stein (rock). A nearby rock is called Falkenstein.

Access to the castle involves a roughly 2-kilometer walk from the nearest station and entry is free. Sturdy footwear and some time for the uphill sections are helpful when exploring the grounds.

The chapel tower, the Kapellenturm, is not square but adjoins the two-storey palas on its east side, and its upper floor held the castle chapel of Saint Margaret. The pentagonal keep, about 16 metres high, kept its battlements into the 20th century. No well existed on the granite rock, so rainwater was collected in a cistern beside the keep.