The Landskron, regional History from European Perspective
10 April 2023
At the end of the 13th century, the Landskron castle was built by the Münch dynasty from Basel. This strategically important place on the mountain of this name (about 530 m above sea level) dominated the route along the northern foot of the Jura. The Romans already recognised its excellent location and built a watchtower at this spot.
The Landskron, Münchenstein and Basel
The name Landskron was first mentioned in 1312 as Lantzkrone. The Münch family belonged to the city nobility of Basel and served the prince-bishop. They also built a castle in Münchenstein (hence the name of this town) near Basel (today canton Basel-Landschaft).
Emanuel Büchel (1705-1775), Münchenstein castle and Kirche, 1754.
The castle and kirche in 2023
Three members of this family were bishops, and others were mayors of Basel. The castle is located near the French village of Leymen in Alsace.
In 1461, the Landskron came into the possession of the Reich von Reichenstein family, also known for the miracle painting in the Reichenstein chapel in Mariastein (canton Solothurn). This family was also in the service of the prince bishop and (thus) of Habsburg, emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. They expanded the Landskron into a comfortable residence.
The Landskron, fragment from the Mirakelbild in the Reichensteinischer chapel of Mariastein
Habsburg and France
At the request of Emperor Maximilian (1459-1519) of the Holy Roman Empire, they rebuilt the castle into a fortress with walls 5 to 7 meters thick. This defensive work was mainly directed against the Swiss Confederation and the canton of Solothurn in particular. The sandstone slab with the Habsburg imperial eagle and the date 1516 at the vaulted entrance refer to this work. The entrance still leads through a seven-meter-thick wall.
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 brought a turning point. Alsace and thus the Landskron became part of the Kingdom of France. The Landskron became a garrison, and in 1687 and 1688, the fortress was extended according to plans by the famous fortress builder Sébastien le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707). His forts, including Belfort and Breisach, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Emanuel Büchel (1705-1775), the Landskron, 1754.
Finally, from 1690 until the Revolution in 1789, the castle also served as a prison for political prisoners. The main prisoner was Bernard Duvergez de Soubardon (1737-1790). He had returned to France as an officer after losing the French colony of Louisiana. He lived at the royal court in Versailles. He was arrested in 1769 and imprisoned in the Landskron. The reason was a love affair with a court lady. King Louis XV (1710-1774) did not appreciate it. He died shortly after his release in 1790. It was already a scandal in 1769.
Duvergez de Soubardon in prison (reconstruction)
The end and a new beginning
The castle’s end came in 1813, when allied troops, who had defeated Napoleon near Leipzig on 16-19 October in the Battle of the Three Peoples, destroyed the castle. Only the 500-year-old tower, the Bergfried, remained. In 1984, the castle came into the possession of the Franco-Swiss association Pro Landskron, which undertook its restoration and maintained the complex.
Winemaking tradition
The first written mention of viticulture dates from 1461. A description from around 1660 reads:
” Gleich daroben ligt angeregte Vestung Landtscrone, allda es einen grossen Rebaker gibt so den besten roter Wein in selbiger Revier ausgibt ” (directly above it is the fortress of Landskron, where there is a large vineyard producing the best red wine in the region) . In 1877, the vineyard covered an area of 7.2 ha. Today, the total area is only 2.2 ha.
(Source and further information: L’Association Pro Landskron/Verein Pro Landskron).
