Wilhelm II, anxious to underline the fact that Alsace was
German territory once more, saw the castle as a symbolic marker for
the western limit of his empire. He decided to undertake a
complete restoration of the castle.
The architect Bodo Ebhardt was entrusted with the restoration
project. His approach was one of rigorous scientific principles,
considering the level of knowledge at the time: He listed all the
archaeological remains found on the site, studied archive
documents, analysed the architecture… and when in doubt, referred
to examples chosen among structures built around the same
time.
The restoration work was carried out from
1900 to 1908.