In 1634 the castle was destroyed by the Austrians and never rebuilt. A model of the castle before its destruction can be seen in the Elztal Museum.
The Knight's Path
The footpath to the castle begins about 200 meters behind the railway station on the road towards the hospital turning right into the forest. The ascending hike takes about 20 minutes. Along the knight's path, eight man-sized knight figures describe their lives. Once arrived at the castle, you have a magnificent view over the town of Waldkirch to the local mountain, the Kandel, as well as to the Rhine plain.
Preserving the ruins
To prevent the ruins from further decay, a number of committed Waldkirch citizens founded the initiative “Kastelburg in Not” (Kastelburg in distress) in 2002. The numerous helpers felled trees, removed shrubbery, collected rubbish, cleaned up the moat, renovated sections of the wall, laid out the castle path and installed illumination. Since then, the impressive castle ruin greets visitors from afar. After 10 years, the preservation work has now been completed except for the tower. This renovation will be tackled by the town of Waldkirch.
