Château de Hohenfels, Medieval castle in Dambach, France

Château de Hohenfels stands on a sandstone outcrop at 350 meters elevation, divided by a dry moat into eastern and western sections. The structure features thick fortification walls and a carved rock chamber system in the western section that served defensive purposes.

Built at the end of the 13th century and first mentioned around 1293, the castle was destroyed by troops from Strasbourg and Haguenau in 1423, then again during the German Peasants' War in 1525. It was probably altered in the 15th century. The semi-troglodytic structure was cut into a sandstone ledge separated from the ridge by a dry ditch.

The name Hohenfels, "high rock", matches the site: a semi-troglodytic castle on a sandstone ledge above Dambach. Visitors reach it by the Club vosgien path marked with a yellow cross, heading from the village towards Neunhoffen. The lower courtyard keeps fragments of walls and a cistern cut into the sandstone with its water-collection system.

The castle remains are freely accessible every day without restricted visiting hours. The site lies on stage 4 of the Alsace Castle Trail between Windstein and Hanau pond and can be reached on foot.

Hohenfels was the first castle in Alsace to be excavated using proper scientific methods. Fragments of a culverin and lead balls found during the digs are now kept at the Maison de l'archéologie in Niederbronn-les-Bains, not in a museum in Niederbronn itself.