Neuenburg Castle

A fortified castle was built in the 14th ^century by Prince-Abbot Conrad Werner Murnhard, on the foundations of an older stronghold, at the entrance to the town of Guebwiller. Burned and pillaged several times, notably during the Thirty Years' War, it remained in ruins until the 18th ^century.

Prince-Abbot Philippe de Loewenstein commissioned Sylvain Golbéry to design the plans for a new urban château. The work was finally completed in 1718 under the direction of Peter Thumb. The castle remains the residence of the prince-abbots of Murbach until the French Revolution. In 1789, it was looted and a wing was destroyed by the peasants of Saint-Amarin. It was then sold as National Assets and bought by several successive owners for use in industrial production: in particular the Indian mills of Dollfus, the ribbon factory of Bary and the workshops of Ziegler and Greuter.
In the 1820s, the Schlumberger family bought the site and transformed it into a villa. The outbuildings were then redesigned as well as the main wing which was given an additional floor.
In 1949, the castle, then property of the Haut-Rhin Department, was transformed into a Normal School, then into an IUFM in 1994. It also housed the Center for bilingual teachers from 2000 to 2011. Still owned by the Haut-Rhin Departmental Council Rhine, the building is made available to the Community of Communes of the Guebwiller Region via an emphyteutic lease in order to install the Neuenbourg Cultural and Tourist Center there.