DESTINATION IDEAS
   England
   Germany
   Italy
   France
   Austria
   Belgium
   Croatia
   Ireland
   Wales
   Switzerland
   Castles
   Museums
   Cathedrals
   War History
   Family Travel
   Wine & Food
   Motorsports
   Romantic Hotels

France Alsace Image

MOLSHEIM
HOTEL DEALS

BARGAIN SEARCH
HOTELS
AIRFARES
AUTO & RAIL

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bargain Travel Europe guide to Europe on a budget for vacation destinations,
travel ideas and secret spots missed by travel tours.




KAISER WILHELM II FORT DE MUTZIG
Mechanized WWI Fortress of Alsace Bas-Rin

Gun Ports Fort de Mutzig photoIn 1893, Europe was slowly teetering toward war, a nearly inexorable fuse burning toward conflict which wouldn’t ignite until set off by the assassination of an archduke by an anarchist in June of 1914. What is often common about war is the arrival of new technology which drives a belief in advantage. In the late 19th Century it was industrial mechanization – machines which would overcome the forces of men. The history of the Alsace region of France, divided from Germany by the Rhine River is shaped by the back and forth struggle for empire between France and Germany (see Castle Haut Konigsbourg). Up until to World War I, Alsace was a possession of the German Empire. To protect his possession German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II decided to fortify a hill outside the Alsacian village of Mutzig, with a commanding view of the lowland passage through the Vosges mountains to defend the southern approach to Strasbourg. A few kilometers from Molsheim (see Bugatti Molsheim) is the curiously unique Kaiser Wilhelm II Fort de Mutzig.

 Cannon Turret Fort Mutzing photoThe Kaiser ordered to be constructed what, at the time in 1893, was the most technically advanced military fortification the world had seen. The advent of artillery had made the stone walled castle fortress of the past useless, so the idea was to go underground. This new generation of fort would be built with concrete, armored and equipped with its own power stations, with an underground bunker tunnel system connecting to mechanized artillery gun turrets with an electrified fence. 7000 men were required to defend, run, and maintain this huge defensive ensemble of fortifications covering over 600 acres underneath the hillside. With its concrete lined trenches and 22 armored gun turrets, it was the strongest German fortification in 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War.

Barracks Fort Mutzig photoFort Mutzig was never taken, or really tested, during WWI, but the armistice granted Alsace to France in the shifting of German borders. France looked at the “success” of Mutzig and in the years following 1918 designed a plan to copy and expand the idea, except with the cannons and machine guns pointed in the opposite direction, creating the Maginot Line, named for a French minister who promoted the concept, which turned out useless against mobile armor in the next war. Maginot Line forts can be seen in the nearby area (see Maginot Line Strasbourg-Hatten), but to match the scale of the Kaiser’s Fort you’d need to go to the Moselle region (see Fort Simserhof Moselle) or Liege in Belgium (see Fort Battice Liege). And Mutzig was not finished with the “war to end all wars” but played a part in the Second World War when it was re-occupied by the Germans and captured by the US 44th and 45th Infantry divisions of the 7th Army during the brutal fighting of General Patton’s thrust through the Vosges in November of 1944. The WWI guns are gone and the turret cannons seen on the site are actually from the cold war era, just in case the Russians decided to take a casual stroll to Paris.

Visiting Kaiser Wilhelm II Fort de Mutzig

Trench and Iron Doors Fort Mutzig Alsace photoThe Kaiser Wilhelm Fort of Mutzig is open on weekends from May and every day from July to September. Regular guided tours in English are offered July to August daily at 3:30 pm, with English group tours arranged in advance the rest of the schedule. The tour leads through the subterranean buildings linking by tunnels to the original troop barracks, kitchen, bakery, power station and hospital, a full circuit covering a mile and half. The temperature remains a constant 57 degrees so dress warm and keep in mind the 200 stair steps. Outside, stroll down the firing trenches, cannon batteries and artillery observation ports, all overgrown by lush growth and offering views across the plain of Alsace and the Vosges, in the ultimate contrast of the echoes of war meeting the peace of nature. The Fort of Mutzig is about 20 minutes by car from Strasbourg. © Bargain Travel Europe

Find best hotel and travel deals in Alsace on TripAdvisor

Web Info
Fort de Mutzig

These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.

See Also:

ALSACE WINE ROAD AUBERGE INNS

UPPER RHINE VALLEY

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR CHAPEL METZ

PFAFFENHOFFEN - WWII CROSSROADS

CITÉ D L'AUTOMOBILE - MULHOUSE