Château de La Petite Pierre

Lützelstein Castle was built at the end of the 12th century by Count Hugo, a son of Count Hugo of Blieskastel. It later belonged to the Electorate of the Palatinate. You can walk through the moat and there is a small shop in the tourist information office with products from the region.

Strategically located between Lorraine and Alsace, the fortifications were expanded by Vauban in 1684. The townscape is wonderful.

As the source was located outside the castle, the water supply was cut off in the event of a siege. During the 16th century, two wells and a cistern were therefore dug under the old town (staedel) located at the front of the castle. The first well to be dug is the current north well. This well was however raised insufficient to meet the water needs of men and animals, because it delivered only 175 liters of water per day. The aquifer sloping towards the south, a second well was therefore dug a little further south. It has a depth of 14.28 m and a diameter of 2 m. It was completed in its lower part by a circular cistern with a diameter of about 8 m. The walls of this cistern were sealed with a clay-based coating. Access to the north well, within the staedel being simpler, a gallery was dug to connect the cistern of the south well to the bottom of the north well. This gallery was extended towards the outside of the rock in order to allow the evacuation of the excavated material. It emerges under a rocky overhang. There, a bastion was built to protect the cistern in the event of a siege. The remains of thick walls are still visible on both sides of this access.