The Maginot Line is a system of fortifications about 700 kilometres long, built by France along its borders with Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. Developed in the 1930s, it was named after the then Minister of War, André Maginot, and was intended to protect France from enemy invasion. Numerous installations were built along the borders, allowing soldiers to live independently for long periods of time in installations that were often underground, and to repel the enemy in case of an attack.
However, the Wehrmacht succeeded in crossing the Maginot Line in the spring of 1940, precipitating the French military defeat that led to the signing of the armistice on 22 June 1940.
Around 3,000 German soldiers, who lie in the military cemetery in Niederbronn-les-Bains today, lost their lives during the "Blitzkrieg" in 1940.
Three forts of the Maginot Line can be visited about 30 kilometres from Niederbronn-les-Bains:
• The Simserhof in Siersthal
• The Schoenenbourg fort
• The “Four a chaux” at Lembach
Prepare warm clothing, the inside temperature of the forts remains at 12°C year round.