Neuf-Brisach ( or ; ; gsw-FR, Nei-Brisach) is a fortified town and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of the

department of Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is the ...

in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

region of Alsace. The fortified town was intended to guard the border between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

and, subsequently, the German states. It was built after the

Treaty of Ryswick The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Gran ...

in 1697 that resulted in France losing the town of

Breisach Breisach (formerly Altbreisach; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach'') is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway ...

, on the opposite bank of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

. The town's name means ''New Breisach''. Today the town is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

because of quintessential military fortifications and its testimony to the influence of Vauban on military architecture during the 17-19th centuries.

History

Work began on the fortified town in 1698, to plans drawn by Vauban, a military engineer at the service of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

. Vauban died in 1707 and this, his last work, was completed by Louis de Cormontaigne. The city's layout was that of an 'ideal city', as was popular at the time, with a regular square grid street pattern inside an octagonal fortification. Generous space was given to a central square across the four

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

s at the middle, flanked by an impressive church. Individual blocks were offered for private development, either as affluent houses in private gardens, or as properties for commercial rent. Simpler housing was provided in long tenement blocks, built inside each curtain wall, which also had the effect of shielding the better houses from the risk of cannon fire. Access was provided by large gateways in the principal four curtain walls. The fortifications are Vauban's final work and the culmination of his 'Third System'. There are two lines of defence, an inner ''enceinte de sûreté'', the bastion wall around the city, and an outer ''enceinte de combat'', a system of concentric star-shaped earthworks. The curtain wall was largely octagonal, with each flank separated roughly into three and the outer bastion projecting slightly, so as to flank the centre of the walls. Each corner had a raised outwardly projecting pentagonal bastion tower, the highest points of the system. The outer earthworks were deep and occupied a greater area than the city itself. The inner walls were surrounded by tenailles before the centres of the curtain walls and

counterguard The counterguard (german: Kontergarde, french: contre-garde) is an outwork in a bastioned fortification system that usually comprises only a low rampart and which is sited in front of the actual fortress moat that runs around the bastions or rave ...

s before the bastions. In front of the centre of each curtain face was a large tetrahedral

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle ...

, those in front of the gateways also being topped by a reduit to the rear. Outside all of these earthworks was a

covered way In military architecture, a covertway or covered way (french: chemin couvert it, strada coperta) is a path on top of the counterscarp of a fortification. It is protected by an embankment which is made up by the crest of the glacis. It is able ...

. The city suffered damage in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but still represents a very clear example of the latest in fortification work at the beginning of the eighteenth century. In 2008, the ''ville neuve'' of Neuf-Brisach was listed as a

as part of the Fortifications of Vauban group.

People

François-Joseph Offenstein François-Joseph is a given name, and may refer to: * François-Joseph Amon d'Aby (1913–2007), Ivoirian playwright and essayist * François-Joseph de Beaupoil de Sainte-Aulaire (1643-1742), French poet and army officer * François-Joseph Bélan ...

(1760–1837), commandant in chief of the town during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

Louis Schlaefli Louis Schlaefli (4 December 1938, Neuf-BrisachLouis Schlaefli, « À Neuf-Brisach en 1944-45 : simples souvenirs d'un enfant », in ''Annuaire de la Société d'histoire de la Hardt et du Ried'', 2002, n°15, ) is a Franco-Swiss scholar, collector ...

(born 1938), librarian * Vauban (1633–1707), military engineer who conceived the fortification of the city

Gallery

File:Plan citadelle Neuf Brisach.jpg, Plan of the city and fortifications File:Neuf-Brisach - plan-relief 1706.jpg, Plan-relief File:Neuf-Brisach southeastern moats and fortifications panoramic.jpg, The moats and fortifications conceived by Vauban

History

People

Gallery

See also