Château de Morimont

The Château de Morimont (German: Moersberg) is a ruined castle in the Alsace region of France, situated in the commune of Oberlarg in the Haut-Rhin département. It is 40 km south-west of Mulhouse and 45 km west of the Swiss city Basel.

The first documented mention of the castle is from 1271 when the count of Ferrette made an oblation to the bishop of Basel. It was occupied by, and takes its name from, the Morimont family, vassals of the Ferrettes and later the Habsburgs. A war with Basel and the Swiss led to the destruction of the castle some time between 1445 and 1468. It was rebuilt by the Morimonts in the 15th and 16th centuries with seven artillery towers. In 1582 they sold it to the counts of Ortenbourg Salamanque who kept it until the Thirty Years' War during which it was destroyed by French troops in 1637. In 1641, Louis XIV gave it and the manor to the Vignacourts, who stayed until the French Revolution. It subsequently belonged to Jean Bruat, Aaron Meyer and, from 1870, the Viellard family.

Built on a rocky east-west crest, the castle dominates the route between Oberlag and Levoncourt. It is constructed from Jurassic limestone with a lime mortar. The northern building, measuring 51 by 7.5 m (~170 by 25 ft) has an underground semi-circular vaulted cellar running the full length and the remains of two spiral staircases. The southern building consists of a polygonal staircase tower as well as remains of pointed-arch vaulting and a fireplace. The tower in the north west corner has oven-shaped vaulting. The southern artillery tower has three vaulted casemates: its cannon openings are set to fire horizontally, with one covering the entrance. The north east tower, built in 1515 has been restored and the present entrance to the cellar through the curtain wall is not original.

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