Citadel of Bitche

Bitche, France

Bitche is known for its large citadel originating from a castle built at the beginning of the 13th century.

The citadel, which had been constructed by Vauban on the site of the old castle after the capture of Bitche by the French in 1624, had been destroyed when it was restored to Lorraine in 1698. This was restored and strengthened in 1740 into a fortress that proved impregnable up until the 20th century. The attack upon it by the Prussians in 1793 was repulsed.

During the Napoleonic Wars, 1804-14, the citadel at Bitche became a major prisoner of war camp housing British and allied soldiers and sailors. It was also used in this context as a penal camp, housing repeated escapers and recalcitrant prisoners.

The fortress is noted for its resistance during the Franco-Prussian War. Louis-Casimir Teyssier, its commander and chief, held the place for about eight months with 3,000 men against about 20,000 Prussian and Bavarian soldiers until the French government ordered him to surrender after the ceasefire in 1871. The town became part of Germany after that date until the end of the First World War, when it was given back to France. During the Second World War it was annexed by the Third German Reich (1940–1944).

Citadel of Bitche is a perfect example of military fortification from the 17th and 18th centuries with its singular design and advanced techniques. A large screen cinema in the underground galleries shows extracts from The Besieged Fortress.

References:
  • Wikipedia

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Details

Founded: 17th-18th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in France

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Eddie Heinzelman (5 months ago)
Citadel was cool to see. The audio tour was kind of disappointing - it’s more of walking while watching a movie. There’s no background given so unless you know the history it can be confusing. The grounds are nice - we finished the tour too late so we were unable to check out the gift shop or cafe.
Michael Levyssohn (2 years ago)
Nice audio/visual tour through the fortress. Fortress is in good state. Also fun to visit the fortress flower garden totally not what you expect from a flower garden.
Heather Monks (2 years ago)
Definitely worth a visit. Look’s nothing from outside but the tunnels are fantastic and you learn all about the Franco Prussian war in an interesting and well filmed way. We were there for 2 hours when really we should have been moving on but it was so good.
Madeline (2 years ago)
Visiting this cute little French city has been on our list for sometime now. ? We stopped at the ?Citadel of Bitche ?? and really enjoyed exploring the very well kept underground fortress. Numerous stops along the underground tour boasted videos depicting the war between France and Germany. One of the coolest parts were the headphones that came with the self guided tour. When you get to a certain location, they are activated and will begin giving you a history of the area you are currently in. Really neat!
Linda Karol (2 years ago)
Very Interesting Fort. The History of the area is huge, and without telling this places' story you would miss a large part of it. They give you head phones to listen in your native language. About 3 hours for the walk through.
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