Ouvrage Schoenenbourg | |
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Part of Maginot Line | |
Northeast France | |
![]() Ammunition entrance, Block 7 | |
Coordinates | 48°58′00″N 7°54′43″E / 48.96667°N 7.91194°E |
Site information | |
Controlled by | France |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Preserved |
Site history | |
Built by | CORF |
Materials | Concrete, steel, deep excavation |
Battles/wars | Battle of France, Lorraine Campaign |
Ouvrage Schoenenbourg | |
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Type of work: | Large artillery work (Gros ouvrage) |
sector └─sub-sector | Fortified Sector of Haguenau └─Péchelbronn |
Work number: | O 800 |
Constructed: | 1932 |
Regiment: | 22nd Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF), 156thPosition Artillery Regiment (RAP) |
Number of blocks: | 8 |
Strength: | 17 officers, 490 enlisted |
Localisation | |
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Ouvrage Schoenenbourg is a Maginot Line fortification. It is located on the territory of the communes of Hunspach, Schœnenbourg and Ingolsheim, in the French département of Bas-Rhin, forming part of the Fortified Sector of Haguenau, facing Germany. At the east end of the Alsace portion of the Maginot Line, its neighbour is the gros ouvrage Hochwald. It is the largest such fortification open to the public in Alsace. Officially recorded as an historical monument, it retains all its original structural elements. Schoenenbourg was heavily bombarded during the Battle of France in 1940, receiving more enemy ordnance than any other position in France, with no significant damage. In 1945, retreating German troops used explosives to destroy much of the ouvrage. After the war it was fully repaired and placed back into service as part of a programme to use Maginot fortifications to resist a potential Warsaw Pact advance through Europe. By the 1970s the plan had lost favour and funding, and Schoenenboug was abandoned. In 1987 a local organisation undertook Schoenenbourg's preservation, and today it is open to public visitation.