Bourscheid Castle – Luxembourg

This week’s journey takes me back to one of our favorite European destinations: charming and beautiful Luxembourg. I visited this tiny nation’s largest castle on a day trip with my parents and Griffey in March 2016.

Bourscheid Castle – perched on a hill over the river Sûre near an eponymous village in north-eastern Luxembourg – was likely constructed around the year 1000, on a site with archaeological evidence dating back to Roman times. The fortress was extended on several occasions over the centuries that followed, including the addition of outer walls, a courtyard, gateway, upper castle, and multiple defensive towers. It served as home to the lords of Bourscheid until 1626, when the family was replaced by the German House of Metternich. Following the French Revolution and the end of feudal power in the region in the late 18th century, the castle was acquired by a branch of the von Schmidtburg family. Despite their best efforts to undertake repair work on the crumbling castle, they were unable to prevent further degradation, and the chapel collapsed soon after. In 1936, Bourscheid became a listed historic site, and in the early 1970s extensive restoration and repair work began. Today, the open-air ruin of Bourscheid Castle is fully accessible to visitors* (including dogs!) for a small fee.

My father traces his ancestry back to Luxembourg, so a day trip was unquestionably in order during a family visit to our home in nearby Germany. We visited on a chilly but beautiful March day, and enjoyed ourselves immensely exploring this massive ruin in the late morning sunshine. We hope you enjoy our photographs as much as we savored our journey through the castle!