daler240D | 23 Jul 2016 10:01 a.m. PST |
Has anybody ever visited the Vauban fortress of Neuf-Brisach? I am doing an Alsace vacation trip next month and was wondering if anyone had been and could share insights to make the most of my visit. Anything else of note in the area re: miitary history? link |
BattleCaptain | 23 Jul 2016 10:28 a.m. PST |
I went there a couple of times in the 1980s, when stationed not far away in Lahr, Germany. Worth seeing if you're interested in the Vauban system. We were even able to wander inside some of the walls. There's also an impressive castle at Haut- Koenigsberg, a short distance to the north. To the west of Colmar, there's a fascinating WW1 site, where the trenches are well preserved because they were hewn out of the rock of the Vosges mountains. In places the opposing lines were only 10m apart. linge1915.com/en/home |
AussieAndy | 23 Jul 2016 11:57 a.m. PST |
If it is or has been raining, take waterproof footwear, as you will want to walk around the outside of the walls. Allow plenty of time. A stunning part of the world. When you are in that part of the Rhine valley, you can see why it was such an avenue into France or Germany. At Neuf Brisach, you are just across the Rhine from Old Brisach, the French loss of which led to the building of Neuf Brisach. Strasburg and Belfort also have interesting Vauban fortifications. |
inverugie | 23 Jul 2016 5:15 p.m. PST |
Agree with the previous two posters, particularly the recommendations for battlefield at Linge and the fortifications at Belfort. If you want somewhere both interesting and charming to stay, I'd recommend the mediaeval-walled village of Bergheim. |
GenWinter | 24 Jul 2016 6:50 a.m. PST |
I was there about 10 years ago. The fortress is complete. The Barracks were apartment buildings but you can wander around and no one appears to care. The Champs de Mars is a park. Excellent views from the walls. Imagine a battery stationed outside the walls trying to get an unimpeded direct shot at them. Can't be done. by the way, the moat was being used for summer concerts. Greg C. |
Eleve de Vauban | 24 Jul 2016 10:27 a.m. PST |
I was there in August 2011 for a visit. A full tour of the walls and the small museum and a little lunch took about six hours. This is very much a working town, if a quiet one. Many of the bastions have found new uses, for example one was a club and bar, and the barracks are now private apartments, but everything else, everything external was very accessible. Also of interest were the changes/upgrades made by the Prussians during the Annexation. A number of the explanatory notices were in French only but easy to understand with schoolboy French. |
Duc de Limbourg | 24 Jul 2016 1:52 p.m. PST |
link some pictures of our visit in 2013 |
daler240D | 25 Jul 2016 3:53 a.m. PST |
Wow, thanks everyone! Great tips. I was fortunate to have stumbled upon Lucca in Italy 4 years ago and marvelled as I wandered around all the ditches and bastions and gates. Now I'm really looking forward to seeing a Vauban design in person. |
AussieAndy | 27 Jul 2016 8:33 p.m. PST |
I also loved Lucca. Given how many friends that we have sent to Lucca, the local tourist board should be paying us a commission. My other favourite is Naarden in the Netherlands. Google up some aerial pictures and you'll see what I mean. When I was besieging Naarden in a French Revolutionary Wars campaign, the umpire refused to accept my assertion that there are holes in the walls that you can drive a bus through, despite me providing photographic proof. |
Duc de Limbourg | 27 Jul 2016 9:12 p.m. PST |
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AussieAndy | 29 Jul 2016 8:27 p.m. PST |
2009. That's why I said that "there are holes". |