Telephone: no telephone
Website: http://www.lignemaginot.com
Shop: small shop present
Restaurant/refreshments: not available
Size of the museum/site: large
Year of visit: 2001
Overall rating:
Description: Fort Schoenenbourg, well hidden in a forrest, was built as part of the Maginot Line in the early 1930's. The initiative for this massive defensive structure was taken by the French government in order to avoid invasions of French territory like it happened in 1914.
At first site ('entrance-bunker') the fort looks small, but once inside and descending a 30 metres stair you enter a huge maze of corridors. We're talking about a tunnel-system with a total of 3,2 kilometres. The fortification was fully self-sufficient: it had its own power- and water supply, transportation system and kitchen with a capacity for about 600 men. These and other parts of the fort can still be viewed, with the (original) equipment and installations of the time Fort Schoenenbourg was still in use in them.
A visit to this 'part of history' will take at least two to three hours, but it's definitely worth it. If you are really interested in the Maginot Line, you may also like to pay a visit to the Fort de Fermont. Oh, and don't forget that it's pretty damn cold down there.
