Maginot Line Fort Schoenenbourg

Well worth the extra drive to see inside this HQ underground fort. Allow about 2 hours. Lots of walking and some steps with a lift to main areas. Run by passionate volunteers, without them this would not be open to public. The centre only receives approx €3.5k pa for basics, so please support this hugely important historical landmark.

Great place to visit. You get an excellent first hand experience of how life as a soldier in one of these forts would have been. Well Designer, self-guiding tour wirh plenty of exhibits, some accessible, some not, lots of illustration and fotographies. Well worth the visit.

Very informative. The museum was recommended by a friend, and I was not disappointed. Bring a jacket because it is quite cool underground!
You’ll want to visit the outside part of the line which is a couple Km away by car.

This place is unique. A kilometer-long network of long corridors and various rooms, systems and machines, supply lines and connections. Maintained by volunteers and an association: they explain every detail personally and on site. A unique journey through time, definitely worth a visit. Thank you for this extraordinary experience.

Loved visiting this piece of history. Very friendly staff, speaking multiple languages. All signs in french, german and english. Brochures even more languages 👌🏻 Dress warmly. 😄

Absolutely brilliant visit. Great to be to so much of the site and learn about its history. Staff very helpful and informative

The place is amazing and it is a witness to some history, I have only read in books about. The Fort is a huge underground structure with kilometers of underground tunnels and facilities. The team that maintains it is continuously working and the results are apparent. Would recommend to anyone with even remote interest of new history.
Note: the temperature in the underground tunnels is pretty much constant, which means cold in the summer. Make sure you have a jacket when entering.

This is a must see for history buffs. Saved by super friendly, dedicated and knowledgeable people like Noah who we meet at one of the cannon turrets. I highly recommend descending into the bowels of the earth to experience what it was like to defend France in 1940. Walk the 1000s of metres of tunnels connecting where the men lived to where they fought. Lessons from Verdun incorporated into a model and impregnable fortress.

This amazing piece of engineering still stands today restored to how it was when the undefeated garrison of Schoenenbourg were ordered to leave the fort in July 1940 a week after Armistice.

We pay our respects to those brave men who stood fast during those difficult times.

Very good exhibition! You visit the real tunnels of the fort. Definitely recommended. Plan 2.5h if you want to see everything.

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Visited Sept 2011

Stunning and well worth a visit. The Maginot defence is a line of concrete fortifications (inc underground), obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany. Consequently, the Germans invaded through Netherlands and Belgium in 1940, passing it to the north. The use therefore of the Line failed as it was supposed to be fully extended further towards the west to avoid such an occurrence, was finally scaled back in response to demands from Belgium.

Constructed on the French side of its borders with Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium, the line did not extend to the English Channel.

The Maginot Line was invulnerable to aerial bombings and tank fire; it featured underground railways as a backup. It also had state-of-the-art living conditions for garrisoned troops, supplying air conditioning and eating areas.

However, the French line was weak near the Ardennes - a rough terrain, seen as an unlikely invasion route of German forces; if it were traversed, it would be done at a slow rate that would allow the French time to bring up reserves and counterattacks. However the German invasion exploited this weak point - a rapid advance through the forest and across the River Meuse encircled much of the Allied forces, resulting in a sizeable force having to be evacuated at Dunkirk and leaving the troops to the south unable to mount an effective resistance to the German invasion of France.

Definitely worth the visit! Put aside at least 2 hours, the time went really fast as it was very interesting, really well put together. We didn't have a guide but there were 2 people stationed within that were very knowledgeable for any questions we had. Lots of easy, flat walking. Even the kids who don't have alot of interest in this type of thing enjoyed it. Tickets are purchased on site.

Wow what a fascinating and thought provoking visit. Staff were very friendly and can answer any questions you may have. Clear to see the effort, time and care all staff put into preserving this important piece of history. Information in English, French and German. Visit took 2 hours and be warned there is lots of walking. €10 per adult seems very reasonable.

This is a must visit place. They said it would take two hoirs to see everything and they were right. It took over two hours to see everything. So much history and so well maintained. Lots to learn

Fascinating underground fortress from the 30s of the last century. The tour is a good 3km walk underground and gives a good impression on the live of the 600 something troops that manned it. Have seen the Garison in the cliffs of Dover before, but this is much more impressive.

Amazing museum, well preserved and very interesting. Text information, and guide languages (at least) in French, German and English.
Way more than 1km underground tunnels and rooms with historical items.
Well worth a visit.

A must visit if you are interested in world wars history, but even if not

Amazing place.
It is amazing what could be built about 100 years ago,
100% worth to visit.
The guids are very kind and answer any questions you might have.

Great historical experience. Worth visiting and going inside. Takes time to see and walk all the tunnels. Wonderful to see how it has been brought back to life.

Well preserved and unbelievably extensive, it's an underground town. The artifacts are amazing, power generators, air scrubbers, guns, shells and a turret with the lifting mechanism to visit via a 1km tunnel. Be aware, it's a bit chilly. There is a lot of walking to do which may cause problems for children and the elderly/infirm. Documentation and descriptions are good. Also a good pub/restaurant for lunch in the nearby village if you arrive before opening time !

A museum you can look back on from the world war 2, and to feel being 30 meters underground. Must bring your jacket coz it's cold there and it's a long walk to explore the museum.