UXEGNEY

THE BOIS L’ABBE FORT

Route

Description

Go back in time and find yourself at the end of the 19th century! By the light of oil lamps, discover the original architecture of the Seré de Rivières forts before modernisation. This is an you can enjoy during the exceptional opening of the Bois l'Abbé fort to the public on the 14th of July and during Heritage Days.

The Bois l'Abbé fort is located a little over a kilometre east of the Uxegney fort. Built between 1884 and 1885, its role was to supplement the action of the Uxegney fort in areas out of sight of the latter. It remained intact after two world wars and, unlike the Uxegney fort, has not since then been modernised or reinforced, apart from four tanks for anti-aircraft artillery, and has retained its original masonry appearance. During your tour you will see the locations of the cannons in the open on top of the fort. Inside, you can admire the colourful sandstone masonry of the gun ports that defended the ditches, the superb staircases leading to the artillery areas, the impressive gunpowder magazine with a capacity of 30 tons of explosives, as well as the bakery whose bread ovens supplied the nearby forts of Bois l'Abbé, Uxegney and La Grande Haye. This tour by lantern light will give you the impression of having travelled back in time!