シュレットシュタット-エルスタンのおすすめウォーキング＆ハイキングルート

とても特別な雰囲気の場所です。

beautiful path below the impressive rocks

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In his meditation on the Stations of the Cross with the Holy Father – on Good Friday 2025 in the Roman Colosseum – Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday of this year, invited us to let Jesus on the cross look at us. A few short sentences from this meditation seem to me to fit well with the small sacred memorial located here: + “We go our usual ways and you come towards us. Your eyes look into our hearts. (…) Jesus is your name, and truly, ‘God saves’ through you. The God of Abraham who calls, the God of Isaac who cares, the God of Jacob who blesses, the God of Israel who delivers: in your gaze, Lord, … lies a whole revelation. In your footsteps leading out of the city, we see our departure into a new land. You came to change the world: for us, this means changing direction, seeing the good you have left behind, and allowing the memory of your gaze to continue to work in our hearts.” (Pope Francis)

Former chapel with seating, which can also be used as a shelter.

Ramstein Castle was built in 1293 by Otto von Ochsenstein to support the siege of the neighboring Ortenberg Castle. After being owned by the Zorn von Bulach family, it was destroyed by the Strasbourg family in the 15th century. Initially consisting of a simple tower, the castle was later expanded into a proper castle, which was destroyed by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War. Today, only the outer wall and two gun towers remain, built in 1793 to defend the entrance to the Vosges Mountains.

At the end of the ridge, at an altitude of 443 meters, lies Ortenbourg Castle, built between 1260 and 1265 by Rudolf Habsburg and one of the most beautiful ruins in the Rhine Valley. A masterpiece of military architecture, with its high gorge surrounding a 32-meter-long dungeon, it is visible from afar and blends perfectly into the landscape. This dungeon offered six levels of defensive fire, and its pentagonal design allowed for better deflection of attackers' projectiles. The recently founded association "Les sentinelles de l'Ortenbourg" (Ortenbourg Sentinels) aims to preserve, expand, and revitalize the castle.