Château de Hohenack

Labaroche, France, France

---

Château de Hohenack is a ruined medieval fortress perched at 927 meters on a strategic plateau above Labaroche in France's Haut-Rhin department in Alsace, built around 1162 by the Hohnack family as vassals of the Counts of Eguisheim-Dabo and later passed to the Counts of Ferrette.

Expanded in the 13th, 15th, and 16th centuries with a polygonal enclosure of bossed stones, square keep, and gate tower, it earned a reputation as an impregnable stronghold used by lords like those of Ribeaupierre to hide treasures during the Thirty Years’ War.

Seized by French troops in 1635 and demolished in 1655 on Louis XIV's orders to prevent military use, the site—classified as a historical monument since 1905—now draws hikers for its dramatic views over valleys and distant Alps amid peaceful forests without crowds or facilities.​