During the 15th century, a troop of brigand knights took over the castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg. For ten years, they ravaged the region and robbed and imprisoned the merchants that followed the commercial road downhill. The extent of their exactions triggered a reaction from the cities of Colmar, Strasbourg, and Basel, who formed a military coalition. It reconquered the castle in 1462 and applied the scorched earth policy. The troops burnt the castle down so that no one could settle there. The ruins of the Haut-Koenigsbourg were later entrusted to the Thierstein family.