On the Neuf-Brisach city tour, a very special gem of the history of fortress construction in the early modern period awaits you. Neuf-Brisach is a charming small town in Alsace, where German and French life mix. Today part of the Vauban UNESCO World Heritage Site, the well-fortified fortress walls clearly show what a hotly contested area the Upper Rhine was between the Habsburg emperors and the French crown.
Neuf-Brisach owes its existence to an irony of history. After the Thirty Years’ War (Alt-)Breisach was expanded by the French and also under the leadership of Vauban to become the strongest fortress on the Upper Rhine. But after a lost war at the end of the 17th century, King Louis XIV had to return Breisach to the Habsburgs. This pained him especially because there was now a gap in his line of fortresses along the Rhine. To close this, Vauban built his king a new fortress in just a few years on the French side of the Rhine opposite Breisach: Neubreisach – Neuf-Brisach. It was his last work and reflects the great skill of the long career of the genius Vauban, who died a few years after completion. On the Neuf-Brisach city tour you will learn interesting facts about the construction and the life of the soldiers in the fortress. But the later history of Neuf-Brisach, in which the fortress repeatedly went back and forth between Germany and France, also plays a significant role. And civilian life in the city also offers a number of stories that you will learn about during the Neuf-Brisach city tour.
Place de Porte de Bâle (Google Map)
On the Neuf-Brisach city tour you will discover in two hours:
