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Why Guirbaden Castle was destroyed and its exact date remains a mystery even today. The ruins magnificently dominate the Magel and Bruche valleys. They keep a silent vigil on the roads crossing the Vosges, frequented since ancient times. For some, the cause of the destruction is either the party of Lorraine or the Swedish armies during the Thirty Years’ War.
The legend agrees on this point: the soldiers managed to return thanks to the complicity of the servant to whom they promised a few gold coins. On the night of the patronal feast of Saint-Florent in Haslach, which will be November 7, soon the ruins of Guirbaden are suddenly filled with an army of ghosts. The bailiff of the betrayed castle emerges from his grave. His shadow brushes the walls of the large apartments from which all his friends, who perished in the terrible fire that devastated the castle and now cry out for revenge, emerge in misfortune. Then 4 servants lift a large slab that opens the long underground passage where the countess’s remains are located.
The coffin is brought to the surface and placed in the middle of the castle’s large ceremonial chamber, where all the ghosts are gathered. The bailiff presides over the Assembly. Its head no longer has eyes, instead only empty sockets remain from which burning embers gush out. His body is again covered with blood-draining wounds. Then the traitor is taken in. Dressed in a red shirt, he still holds in his hands the big key with which he once opened a poster to the enemy and delivered his comrades to death. The criminal is interrogated at length, tries to justify his action, but the Assembly finds him guilty of treason.
The countess, who until then had remained motionless, frozen from death, suddenly stands up in her coffin and shouts: Revenge! Punish the traitor. As the bell of the small Saint-Valentin chapel begins to ring, the spirits immediately run to the evil servant and lower their weapons. The ghosts then begin their tour of hell. Blood was shed, betrayal was avenged. Holding hands, they fly through the air and circle around the traitor’s remains. This ballet will continue until the morning, when the first rays of the sun will erase everything. Don’t hang out at Guirbaden Castle on the night of November 6-7.
