Maginot Line - Fortress Four-a-Chaux

About

For more than half a century, the fortresses of the Maginot Line have been part of the Northern Vosges landscape. Built between 1930 and 1935, the Four-a-Chaux fortress in Lembach is one of the major buildings of this defensive line situated about ten kilometres (6 miles) from the German border so as to protect France during the Second World War. The fort’s location, south of the village of Lembach in a limestone hill, is what makes the fort so special. This large mountain installation that was manned by 580 troops has about 5 kilometres (3 miles) of up to 30-metre (100-foot) deep underground galleries. It stretches over a 26-hectare (75-acre) area and is equipped with an incline that is unique in Alsace. It has been open to visitors since 1983 and guided tours allow you to discover all of this huge fortress’s wartime installations and to perfectly understand how it operated.

At a glance

• Typical visit: about 1 hour 30 minutes