A restoration criticised but respectful of the castle's past

All these studies enabled him to identify the different parts of the castle, recreate plausible decors and complete the ruin in a credible manner.
The remaining walls are checked block by block, and any fragile parts are replaced identically. A patina is then applied to even out the finish.

To indicate which parts have been restored, Bodo Ebhardt has designed restoration marks: each replaced block bears a mark cut into the stone. Each mark corresponds to a year's work, and together they form an eight-year calendar, from 1901 to 1908. Today, these signs are still easily identifiable throughout the monument.

As soon as the work was assigned to Bodo Ebhardt, the criticisms flew.

Otto Piper, author of the Burgenkunde (the first scientific work on German castles) and editor of the newspaper ‘Le courrier du Bas-Rhin’, went wild. Wilhelm II had initially consulted him, but his plan to conserve the ruin had not won him over.

Arguing that any restoration would risk distorting the historic value of the site, the unsuccessful candidate systematically condemned the work of Bodo Ebhardt, accusing him of opportunism.

The controversy crystallised around the shape of the keep. While Bodo Ebhardt rightly described it as square, opponents of the restoration claimed that it was round. These detractors, who include eminent scientists, go so far as to fabricate false evidence to illustrate their claims!

These attacks were obviously directed against the political symbol that Haut-Koenigsbourg had become in the hands of the emperor. The emperor was not spared. Following the inauguration, some of the regional and international press, and notorious anti-Germanists such as the illustrator Hansi, had a field day. They mocked the historic parade. The ceremony was supposed to be grandiose, but it took place in pouring rain!
The Kaiserwetter (the fine weather that was supposed to accompany the emperor) had disappeared!

With the idea of creating a museum open to the public, the Hohkönigsburgverein (literally ‘Society of Haut-Koenigsbourg’) was given the task of raising the funds needed to decorate and furnish the castle. Made up of university professors, architects and archaeologists, the society was founded in 1904.

Up until the end of the First World War, almost 500 members were active in Alsace, Lorraine, Switzerland and even the Tyrol, bringing together a whole collection of Rhenish artefacts (weapons, furniture, etc.) from the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
In parallel, and since its creation, the Society has ensured the tourist promotion of the monument.
Although the site was still a work in progress, admission was made chargeable in 1904.

It also organised the historic parade to mark the castle's inauguration and commissioned Léo Schnug, an Alsatian artist with a passion for the Middle Ages and a specialist in military uniforms, to design the costumes.

After the inauguration, she took charge of decorating the dwelling and commissioned Léo Schnug to paint the murals in the Kaiser's room (the banqueting hall) and the trophy room.

On 13 May 1908, Haut-Koenigsbourg castle was finally inaugurated with great ceremony.

The finishing work and interior fittings, including the murals painted by Alsatian artist Léo Schnug, continued until the First World War.

The conflict brought work to a halt, leaving some of the decorations unfinished, such as the ‘golden’ chamber in the keep, which was left in its raw state.

After the First World War and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the château became part of the French national domain. The monument became a tourist place, but it was still fashionable to criticise its restoration as the work of the enemy. It was not until Franco-German relations calmed down that the work was reconsidered. After two world wars that spared it, it was classified as a historic monument in its entirety in 1993.

Today, 100 years after its restoration, Haut-Koenigsbourg castle stands proudly at the heart of a unified Europe.

It became the property of the Département du Bas-Rhin in 2007 (and of the Collectivité Européenne d'Alsace from 1 January 2021). Haut-Koenigsbourg offers a remarkable vision of what a fortified castle was like at the end of the Middle Ages, and bears witness to European history in the early 20th century.