The fortified castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg stands on top of a rocky outcrop embracing the entire Alsace plain. Its strategic position between the Vosges and the Black forest allowed it to monitor the trade routes extending downhill. The merchants transported salt, wine, and silver that served to create money. The castle's location hence aroused desires, and it was attacked many times. Believed to be impregnable back then, it was half-destroyed and burnt by the Swedish armies in 1633.