His uncle Bourcard/Burkhard II of Lutzelstein, Bishop of Strasbourg (in office 1393 - 1394), was one of the claimants, as well as Friedrich's sister, married to Johann of Leiningen.
divided the property letting Palatine count Robert III, Holy Roman Emperor a fourth and the rest to his daughters.
Since 1977, the building has housed the administrative services of the Parc naturel régional (Natural Regional Park) of Vosges du Nord.
The fortified town, with the Saint-Louis chapel, the 15th-century church choir and the bastion tower protecting the cisterns, is closely linked to the castle.
The castle is located at the end of a crest, separated from the old town by an artificial ditch dating from the beginning of the 13th century.