Sausenburg Castle

Sausenburg Castle stands as the remains of a medieval fortress on the edge of the Black Forest. It sits on a hill called the Sausenberg, 665 metres above sea level, between the villages of Sitzenkirch and Malsburg-Marzell. The counts of Hachberg built the castle in 1246 to protect their lands after acquiring the site from Benedictine monks in 1232. The dynasty they founded, the Margraves of Hachberg-Sausenburg, ruled from here until the 14th century. By 1444 their territory had grown to include Badenweiler, forming the Markgräflerland region. The castle’s history reflects the rise and fall of regional power. In 1503 it passed to the Margraviate of Baden through inheritance. Its final destruction came in 1678 during the Franco-Dutch War, when French forces under Marshal de Créquy demolished the medieval walls. The old artillery could no longer defend such structures against modern siege methods. Today only fragments remain: a circular rampart, a tower and parts of the walls. Visitors walk among the ruins and see how the castle once commanded the surrounding valleys. The hilltop offers wide views over the Black Forest and the plains beyond. The remaining tower still rises above the earthworks, while broken walls trace the outline of halls and chambers. The site is quiet, with no modern buildings nearby, so the medieval atmosphere lingers. It is a place where the past can be felt in the stone and earth.