The castle stands on the outskirts of Orschwiller. Designed as a mountain fortress, it was built in the 12th century by Frederick the One-eyed to strengthen the power of the Hohenstaufen, a Germanic imperial family. The castle was first mentioned in writing in 1147 by a monk who denounced the illegality of its construction, as it was built on land entrusted to the monks of Lièpvre Abbey. It took the name Koenigsbourg in 1157, meaning ‘royal castle’. Extensively altered in the 15th century, the castle was enlarged and its defence systems modernised, marking the apogee of Hohkoenigsburg. However, besieged, destroyed and pillaged in 1633 during the Thirty Years’ War, it was restored at the end of the 19th century by Wilhelm II. The castle was listed as a historic monument in 1993.
Traces of the first Romanesque castle are still visible in its architecture, such as the walled geminated windows behind the castle’s first door.