Bourscheid Castle
Luxembourg's largest castle ruin, on a spur 150 metres above the Sûre, with eleven towers.
The castle occupies a rocky spur that rises about 150 metres above a bend of the Sûre, a position that commanded the river valley and the road north. A stone fortress stood here by the eleventh century and the lords of Bourscheid are recorded from 1095. The upper castle was rebuilt in stages, the Stolzembourg house was added in the middle of the fourteenth century, and an outer curtain wall studded with eight watchtowers was finished in 1384, giving the site the outline it keeps today.
The lordship passed through several families and the buildings were abandoned after the seventeenth century, falling into ruin until the Luxembourg state bought the site in 1972 and began a long programme of consolidation. Roofs were replaced on parts of the complex and the Stolzembourg house now holds an exhibition on the castle's history and archaeology. Visitors walk the curtain walls and towers with an audio guide available in several languages, with wide views over the Sûre valley.
Highlights
- Outer curtain wall of 1384 with eight watchtowers
- The fourteenth-century Stolzembourg house and its exhibition
- Views over the Sûre valley from the ramparts
- Audio-guided route through the upper and lower castle
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