Low Bridge, Everybody Down: Barging in Europe: Fort de Schoenenbourg, Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg, Hunspach Alsace France

The entrance to Fort de Schoenenbourg

Do you remember studying the Maginot Line in school? It was built between 1928 and 1940 by the French along their border with Germany and in the Alps with Italy. Unfortunately France was defeated in June 1940. Many said the Maginot Line had been a failure. In reality it succeeded in its mission which was to protect the industrial zone of Alsace and Lorraine, allow the mobilization of the French army, and of the utmost importance avoid a surprise attack by the German Army in French territory. Visiting one of the forts that made up the Maginot Line, which had been restored, was worth the time. You need to allow a good 2 hours to cover the different galleries all of which are underground. We saw how the soldiers lived underground. Fort de Schoenenbourg was a civil engineering marvel. This particular fort was the most heavily bombed construction of the Maginot Line. On June 22, 1940 the armistice between France and Nazi Germany had been signed. But the fort did not surrender. The French high command had to tell them the war was over after which the fort was abandoned.

They used huge ammunition

Everything was built on a large scale. The tools were built accordingly

The corridors are 1.85 miles (3 km) long and the fort is almost 100 feet deep (30 M)

Room for sleeping and taking breaks.

These are batteries which we assumed were for standby power in case their generators failed.

Another corridor with narrow gage railroad tracks for moving supplies and munitions.

Tom is showing off his shooting skills on this double barrel machine gun.

An example of the food supplies needed to feed 630 men

Samples of artwork the soldiers painted on the walls.

The land above the Fort

Hunspach is listed as One Of The Most Beautiful Villages of France. The village has black and white half timbered houses that French refugees and Swiss immigrants built after theThirty Year War. It is located near the Fort du Schoenenbourg.

Driving through Hunspach

We next visited Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg a medieval castle located in Alsace, France. It was used by different powers from the Middle Ages until the thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt by the German kaiser Wilhelm II. It is noted in history all the way back to 774. The ruins have been listed as a historical monument since 1862 when the German kaiser Wilhelm II was granted the remains of the castle. His desire was to restore the castle, and reinforce the bond of Alsatians with Germany. While his restoration is not completely accurate it shows Wilhelm II's romantic nationalist ideas of the past and the architect's work.