Sierck, Rodemack and the Hackenberg: The Dukes' Castle, the Little Carcassonne and the Maginot Line
Grand Est, France
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
1 day
Sierck, Rodemack and the Hackenberg: The Dukes' Castle, the Little Carcassonne and the Maginot Line
250 + 100 XP
Where France meets Luxembourg and Germany, the castle of the dukes of Lorraine at Sierck-les-Bains stands on its rock over the Moselle; it is recorded as Sirke Castellum in 1036 and was almost entirely rebuilt in the 15th century by Arnould VI de Sierck. The town got its walls in 1295, when Ferry III of Lorraine granted it a charter and the backs of the houses along the river were made to serve as the defence. Nine kilometres west, Rodemack is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, its citadel disputed between Baden, Lorraine, France and Spain, awarded to Spain in 1559, occupied by the French in 1678, besieged by the Prussians during the Hundred Days and held by General Hugo, the poet's father, before being dismantled after 1815. To the west, the Hackenberg is the largest work of the Maginot Line: nineteen surface blocks over ten kilometres of galleries dug at least thirty metres down across 160 hectares.
Required Activities
1
of 5
From the castle rock at Sierck, work out how the town below defended itself: it was walled from 1295 and the backs of the houses along the Moselle were the wall. Walk the Grand'Rue round the bend of the river, then follow the rues du Moulin and des Tanneries along the Montenach stream from the Porte des Broches to the place du Vieux-Marché
2
of 5
At Rodemack, find the powder magazine and the stables, the two 18th-century buildings that survived the dismantling, then stand in front of the drawbridge and pace out the huge barbican built to cover it — the guard houses and barracks that stood beside them are gone
3
of 5
Ride the ouvrage's own narrow-gauge train into the west half of the Hackenberg and work forward from the munitions magazine to the power station and the barracks with its rebuilt kitchen and sick bay, all of it kept in working order, then come up onto the roof to watch a gun turret rise and turn. Outside, walk the anti-tank ditch and the escarpment wall: with the Hochwald, this is the only work on the whole Maginot Line that has them
4
of 5
Underground at the Hackenberg, find the blast damage in the M1 magazine and at the men's entrance: the Germans put a factory into these galleries in 1943 and worked it with deportees and Soviet prisoners, set off two explosions in it, and stripped out the four generating sets — the largest on the Maginot Line — probably for the Atlantic Wall submarine pens
5
of 5
Find the 81 mm mortar turret at the Hackenberg whose barrels the US Army replaced after the war: the calibre did not exist in American service, so the tubes had to be made specially for a French fort the Americans had shelled a few months earlier
From the castle rock at Sierck, work out how the town below defended itself: it was walled from 1295 and the backs of the houses along the Moselle were the wall. Walk the Grand'Rue round the bend of the river, then follow the rues du Moulin and des Tanneries along the Montenach stream from the Porte des Broches to the place du Vieux-Marché
At Rodemack, find the powder magazine and the stables, the two 18th-century buildings that survived the dismantling, then stand in front of the drawbridge and pace out the huge barbican built to cover it — the guard houses and barracks that stood beside them are gone
Ride the ouvrage's own narrow-gauge train into the west half of the Hackenberg and work forward from the munitions magazine to the power station and the barracks with its rebuilt kitchen and sick bay, all of it kept in working order, then come up onto the roof to watch a gun turret rise and turn. Outside, walk the anti-tank ditch and the escarpment wall: with the Hochwald, this is the only work on the whole Maginot Line that has them
Underground at the Hackenberg, find the blast damage in the M1 magazine and at the men's entrance: the Germans put a factory into these galleries in 1943 and worked it with deportees and Soviet prisoners, set off two explosions in it, and stripped out the four generating sets — the largest on the Maginot Line — probably for the Atlantic Wall submarine pens
Find the 81 mm mortar turret at the Hackenberg whose barrels the US Army replaced after the war: the calibre did not exist in American service, so the tubes had to be made specially for a French fort the Americans had shelled a few months earlier
Before you go
The Hackenberg is run by the AMIFORT-Veckring association and seen only on a guided tour, and only the underside of the west half-work is open; the galleries are thirty metres down and cold all year, so take warm clothes and shoes whatever the weather outside. Tours run to fixed times and days that change with the season, so check before the drive — the fort is at Veckring, about 10 km from the pin. Rodemack is about 9 km west and its citadel is walked from the village streets.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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