The Mont Royal fortress

The French Sun King, Louis XIV, commissioned the construction of the Mont Royal fortress between 1687 and 1689, based on the plans of the military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban . The fortress's primary purpose was to supply his chain of fortifications and control the central Rhine region. However, this model French fortress was dismantled by the French themselves starting in 1698, as they refused to cede the castle to Holland or England after the Peace of Rijswijck .

With the help of the Reich Labor Service, the remains were dug up again from 1929 to 1937. This was under the direction of the home educator Dr. Ernst Wilhelm Spies, who carried out the excavations on Mont Royal using the original plans from the Paris archives. The discoveries can be viewed daily from Easter to October in the Middle Moselle Museum. Guided tours through the fortress ruins take place every first Saturday of the month in summer.

More information about the Mont Royal fortress can be found on Wikipedia.