Hüningen Fortress

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Bird's eye view from the north of Hüningen Fortress - Etching after a drawing by Emanuel Büchel (1705–1775)

The fortress Hüningen was a 1679-91 to plans by the military architect Vauban built and existing until 1815 fortress in the Alsatian Hüningen just outside the city of Basel .

Description of the fortress

The core of the fortress was a pentagon with five bastions . In front of the five curtains there was a tenaille ( trench scissors ), which in turn was protected by a bezel . This wall was surrounded by a wide ditch that received its water from the Rhine . Outside the trench there was a hornwork in the north and south . The fortress was armed with 140 cannons and barracks for 5,000 men. There were also two upstream plants against Basel, a Maschikuliturm and a Sternschanze .

In the fortress there was room for 1200 inhabitants, the church, a hospital, the armory and military administration buildings.

history

The construction of the fortress

The affiliation of Hüningen was for a long time disputed between the city of Basel and the Habsburgs and changed several times. With the Peace of Nijmegen , Alsace became part of the Kingdom of France . Rumors about the planned construction of a fortress in Hüningen to protect the French possessions in Alsace soon worried Basel. On June 4, 1679, the French war minister Louvois denied to a Basel delegation that the construction of a fortress was planned while the procurement of the stones had already begun. Basel switched on the Federal Diet , which tried diplomatically over the summer to dissuade France from its intention. Basel, which is exposed to France, held back a little.

On August 2, 1679, Vauban visited the intended construction site, and the earthworks began on October 11. The construction work was headed by Jacques Tarade as chief engineer . The first governor of the fortress was Roger Brulart de Puysieux. The foundation stone for the fortress was laid on March 19, 1680. Regardless of further diplomatic efforts by Switzerland and Austria, Louvois and Vauban pushed the construction of the fortress with high priority. On October 15, 1681, King Louis XIV visited the new fortress. The main works of the fortresses were completed in 1683, the entire complex not until 1691.

The fishing village of Groß-Hüningen had to give way to the fortress and the residents were relocated to Bourg Neuf d'Aoust ( Village-Neuf since 1704 ), which was founded by royal decree in 1684 a few kilometers down the Rhine on the Rhine island of Aoust . In 1687 the old village was completely demolished.

In 1694 the fortress was supplemented by a fortress on the Schusterinsel . Since a small part of the island belonged to Basel, the fortress bordered directly on the Basel area. Contrary to the French promises, the Vorwerk was also connected to the fortress by a fixed Rhine bridge. Conflicts about territorial and usage rights on the Rhine and Schusterinsel, which had been simmering for a long time and were intensified by the fortress, culminated in the Basler-French salmon fishing dispute of 1736/37.

For the next 120 years, the fortress was an important gateway for the French armies to enter the German Empire, from which the residents of the Markgräflerland in particular suffered.

The peace of Rijswijk

On October 30, 1697, the treaty between France and the Holy Roman Empire was signed in Rijswijk as part of the entire peace treaty . In Article 57, Switzerland is also included in the peace. The Swiss diplomats had also campaigned for the Hüningen fortress to be razed - in the end, however, only the razing of the bridgehead on the right bank of the Rhine and the works on Schusterinsel and the fixed Rhine bridge could be enforced.

Article 23 of the peace treaty stipulated:

"It should Se. Most Christian Mejestät at your own expense all vestiges around Hünningen in the right arm and island of the Rhine located / grinded / and the ground and the houses / the Baden house are given back; The bridge built there over the Rhine should also be thrown off. "

However, the razing of the fortifications on the island was poor. During the War of the Spanish Succession , France rebuilt the fortifications on Schusterinsel .

In the War of the Spanish Succession (1702)

After the French fortress of Landau was besieged in the summer of 1702 by an imperial army under Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm and the French Marshal Catinat did not make progress with his relief troops, Louis XIV decided to open another front on the Upper Rhine to relieve Landau . General Villars was sent with the order to cross the Rhine at Hüningen, on the one hand to withdraw imperial troops from Landau and on the other hand to bring about a union with the Bavarian allies. However, Villars and his army did not reach Hüningen until 28-30. September 1702, when Landau had already fallen. A few weeks earlier, France had started to rebuild the fortifications on Schusterinsel . Villars immediately laid 2,000 men in the ruins and had a ship bridge laid across the Rhine to Schusterinsel, where he also stationed artillery. As early as the night of October 1 to October 2, a first attempt was made to build another ship bridge from the island to the German shore (20 meters) under the protection of these cannons and that of the fortress on the French bank. While this first attempt could still be repulsed by the imperial troops under Count Egon von Fürstenberg, the bridge was built on October 2nd, as the imperial troops could not hold their positions due to the strong French gunfire - Villars was also able to secure a bridgehead on the German bank . Count Fürstenberg and his troops arrived at Friedlingen on September 30th, Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm followed on October 4th - too late to prevent the building of a bridge. Until October 12, the armies lying close together fought fruitless artillery duels.

After the French infantry were defeated in the Battle of Friedlingen on October 14, 1702 , they withdrew under the protection of their victorious cavalry over the bridges to the fortress of Hüningen.

In the Austrian War of Succession

In 1741, the French King Louis XV. build a ship bridge, which was then replaced by a permanent bridge over the Rhine in 1746. In the Treaty of Aachen in 1748 it was agreed that the bridge should be demolished again.

In the First Coalition War

On September 17, 1793, Austrian troops prevented the French revolutionary army from crossing the Rhine in the battle near Hüningen .

At Christmas 1795, Marie Thérèse Charlotte de Bourbon , the daughter of the executed French king Louis XVI, stayed. , two nights in the Gasthaus Zum Raben in Hüningen, which was located within the fortress walls. They were handed over on December 26, 1795 near Basel in exchange for Armand Gaston Camus , Pierre Riel de Beurnonville , Jean-Baptiste Drouet , Hugues-Bernard Maret , Nicolas Marie Quinette , Charles Louis Huguet and 16 other French prisoners of war. She has now been brought to Vienna , where her mother was born. On January 9, 1796, she arrived at the Viennese court.

At the end of 1796 the fortress was first sieged.

The three sieges

Siege and capture of the Hüningen bridgehead 1796/97

Hüningen bridgehead 1796/97
General Abatucci

Immediately after the battle of Schliengen , Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg received the order to take the French bridgehead at Hüningen in order to make it more difficult for the French army to cross the Rhine, which was expected in the coming year. After extensive preparatory work on siege works and long artillery duels, Fürstenberg's troops attempted a first assault on the bridgehead on November 30, 1796, which was ultimately repulsed bloodily. The French commander of the Hüningen Fortress, General Abbatucci , was fatally wounded in the fighting. In the course of the fighting, Austrian troops violated Swiss neutrality. After taking the French bridgehead near Kehl on January 10, 1797, the Austrian troops relocated their heavy siege cannons in front of Hüningen. After further heavy fighting, the French general Francois Marie Dufour surrendered on February 1, 1797 and surrendered the bridgehead on February 5, which was then razed. Although reliable information is missing, the descriptions suggest that the battles for the bridgehead were more costly for both sides than the battle of Schliengen.

Siege and capture of the Hüningen Fortress in 1814

On December 22nd, 1813, the fortress was enclosed by troops under the Bavarian General Carl Philipp von Wrede after the allied troops had crossed the Rhine in Basel. It was not until October 1813 - shortly before the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig  - that Bavaria joined the alliance against Napoleon , with Wrede helping to force this political turnaround.

There were 3600 soldiers and about 800 civilians in the fortress; Colonel Jean Chancel was in command of the fortress . In mid-January General Wrede moved with the main part of his corps including artillery across the Vosges and left a siege force of 2500 men under Karl Freiherr von Zoller.

On April 5, 1814, the outwork with the Maschikuliturm and the surrounding hill was laid in ruins by heavy gunfire. Then the southern hornworks was shot at and stormed. The next from 6. – 10. April artillery fighting was interrupted on April 10th by a truce . On April 11th and 12th, the fortress was again fired at with 106 guns and badly damaged.

On April 12, 1814, Napoleon abdicated unconditionally.

On April 16, the troops of the Alliance moved into the fortress, which was now occupied together with the French in accordance with an armistice agreement of April 15, 1814. The Russian grand dukes Nikolaus and Michael were present. On June 8, 1814, the Bavarian troops left the fortress again and left it to the French under their fortress commander Colonel Jean Chancel .

Siege and capture of the Hüningen Fortress in 1815

Joseph Barbanègre

Right at the beginning of the rule of the Hundred Days, which began with Napoleon's return from Elba on March 1, 1815, the Hüningen garrison also declared itself for Napoleon. On March 25, Great Britain , Austria , Russia and Prussia again signed a coalition agreement against Napoleon, whereupon the occupation in Hüningen was strengthened and the expansion of the fortifications began. On May 20, 1815, Switzerland joined the Allies. On May 15, 1815, Joseph Barbanègre took over the high command in Hüningen - with Jean Hugues Chancel remaining in command of the fortress - and on June 11, soldiers and citizens of Hüningen were prohibited from all traffic with Basel - the natural center of the region.

After the defeat in the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, Napoleon abdicated on June 22, 1815. On June 25th, Hüningen received a message from Lieutenant General Claude-Jacques Lecourbe , who announced the abdication of Napoleon and the beginning of peace negotiations. On June 26, 1815, the Austrian troops under Archduke Ferdinand crossed the Rhine with 130,000 men in Basel and invaded Alsace. On June 27th, the French troops were attacked near Burgfelden near Hüningen. Austrian and Swiss troops formed a siege ring around Hüningen, but were unable to take effective action against the fortress due to the lack of heavy artillery. Field Marshal Lieutenant Mariassy was in command of the siege corps, while Archduke Johann was in command . On June 28, Austrian associations set fire to houses in some Alsatian villages, whereupon the fortress artillery shelled the Basel districts of St. Johann and St. Peter. July began with some artillery duels. Barbanègre refused an invitation to surrender on July 3. By July 7th, 385 of the initially 2000 men in the fortress had deserted. After another request to surrender was refused on July 11th, the Austrians began to bombard the fortress with artillery. Switzerland was asked to provide the still missing heavy artillery, which was done by July 15. Barbanègre sought to spread news of the return of Louis XVIII. on the French throne and refused a renewed call to surrender on July 20, while its occupation was increasingly reduced by further desertions. On July 22nd, Generals Lecourbe and Rapp signed an armistice with the Austrians, which also included the Hüningen fortress. Nevertheless, on July 26th, Basel was again shot at from the fortress. Now further Swiss artillery was installed in Klein-Hüningen , and from August 6th Swiss snipers intervened directly in combat, after the Swiss had previously only occupied their outposts. On August 17th, the Swiss Diet also finally approved the active deployment of the 5,000-strong Swiss units near Basel. The political situation in France continued to appear confused and anti-royalist activities from Belfort and Hüningen were reported on August 13th .

Withdrawal of the garrison from the Alsatian gate of the Hüningen fortress in 1815; Painting by Jean Baptiste Édouard Detaille

The Austrian siege corps numbered 12,000, together with the Swiss units 17,000 and now had 110 cannons , howitzers and mortars . The large number of troops was not needed for attacks, but for digging the trenches , which was done in shifts to accelerate.

In the fortress there were initially about 2,400 men with about 100 guns.

On August 17th, Count Wilhelm von Hochberg arrived in Basel and received from Archduke Johann the command of one of the two divisions of the siege corps.

The attack on the fortress began in the night of August 17th to 18th, 1815. The fortress artillery not only responded to the siege artillery shelling, but also took Klein-Hüningen and Basel under fire several times. Negotiations began on August 24, during which a ceasefire was in effect. On August 26th, however, the fighting resumed and the fortress was now under heavy fire all day, so that Barbanègre finally signed the deed of surrender at the end of the day, which included the surrender of the fortress and weapons with the honorable withdrawal of the garrison.

The razing of the fortress

In the Treaty of Paris on November 20, 1815, at the urging of Switzerland, the razing of the Hüningen fortress was determined:

"III. Article Considering that the fortifications of Hüningen have at all times been an object of concern for the city of Basel, the high contracting powers, in order to give the Helvetic Confederation a new proof of your benevolence and care, have united so that the Fortifications of Hünningen are razed; and for the same reason the French government undertakes not to restore them at any time, not even to have any new fortifications built at a distance of less than three French miles from the city of Basel. "

With the treaty, the work to destroy the fortress, which had already been ongoing since August 31, was only approved under international law. On August 31, the leveling of the Abatucci redoubt and the lunettes began. On October 10, the Austrian Emperor Franz visited Hüningen and gave tips for the blasting. On October 16, the siege corps reached an agreement with the city of Basel regarding the cost of the demolition. Switzerland provided 515 quintals of powder for the explosions.

The demolition of the actual fortress began on October 17, 1815 and was completed on January 15, 1816. Basel wanted the military buildings to be destroyed as well as the fortifications and is said to have bribed Austrian officers to enforce this intention. Around 10,000 people are said to have been deployed in the work - in addition to Swiss civilians (miners, bricklayers, carpenters, henchmen) also Sundgau farmers and the military (especially miners ).

During the work, many Basel residents also visited the fortress and there are said to have been incidents with the people of Hüningen - the emotions were great on both sides. Here the joy of the threat that has finally disappeared - there the defeat and the damage.

The Alsatians had to take care of the removal of the rubble dumps that resulted from the razing. For this purpose, the French sub-prefect called on the residents of the communities to do compulsory labor, which they did reluctantly. The clean-up work was not finished until May 1817.

Current condition

Nothing is visible of the trenches and ramparts. A number of the buildings within the fortifications have survived. The Musée historique et militaire is located in one of these buildings . A large model of the fortress can also be seen in this museum.

The former garrison church was built according to plans by the architect Jacques Tarade. It is located on the Place Abbattucci and is now profaned . Because of its room acoustics , it is valued as a concert space for chamber music . The facade, bell tower and roof have been protected as a monument historique since 1938 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Hüningen Fortress  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ↑ Stocker, pp. 22/23
  2. ↑ after 1796 also called Abatucci Redoute
  3. ^ Treaty of February 5, 1679 between France and Sweden on the one hand and the German Empire on the other
  4. ↑ André Schluchter : Puysieux [Puysieulx] Roger de Brulart. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  5. ↑ later under German rule Neudorf
  6. ↑ Stocker, p. 21
  7. ↑ Rheininsel near Hüningen; previously also called Frauenwörth or Kälber-Insel
  8. ^ The Peace of Rijswijk on Wikisource
  9. ↑ the dates are based on Wieland's presentation, other sources show a one-day difference
  10. ↑ from the article Battle of Friedlingen taken
  11. ↑ on the exchange campaign, see also Karl Tschamber: History of the city and former fortress Hüningen . St. Ludwig (Saint Louis) 1894, pp. 126-130 in the Internet Archive
  12. ^ J. Hirtenfeld: Austrian Military Conversation Lexicon . Vienna 1852, pp. 278/279
  13. ↑ on Dufour see also François Marie Dufour in the French-language Wikipedia
  14. ^ See text of the surrender in the Freiburger Zeitung of February 8, 1797
  15. ↑ Tschamber, pp. 151-163
  16. ↑ see also Treaty of Ried
  17. ↑ s. Napoleon Bonaparte # The collapse
  18. ^ Eduard Kaiser (politician) : From the old days - memoirs of a Markgräfler 1815-1875. Lörrach 1910, reprint Weil am Rhein 1981 reported on p. 13-15 from the memories of his parents about these artillery battles.
  19. ↑ after General Bachmann resigned as commander in chief, Hans Conrad Finsler took over the command. Colonel Karl von Affry was in command of the Swiss troops directly involved in the siege. See Dominic Pedrazzini: Karl von Affry. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  20. ↑ Tschamber, p. 236; French sources speak of 20,000–30,000 men
  21. ↑ Tschamber, p. 238; The French legend speaks of only 135 men who stood up against 30,000 attackers for 2 months.
  22. ^ Philipp Roeder von Diersburg (ed.): Memories of the General of the Infantry Margrave Wilhelm von Baden from the campaigns from 1809 to 1815. Karlsruhe 1864, p. 183; the count's notes also give a realistic picture of further events.
  23. ↑ The document of surrender is reproduced in Tschamber, p. 248 ff.
  24. ↑ Contract text in German
  25. ↑ Tschamber, pp. 274/275
  26. ↑ Histoire et Patrimoine on the homepage of the Société d'histoire de Huningue / Village-Neuf et de la Région frontalière (French)
  27. ↑ Information about the museum on the municipality's website; accessed on November 8, 2019
  28. ↑ Entry No. IA00024495 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)

Coordinates: 47 ° 35 ′ 31 ″  N , 7 ° 35 ′ 17 ″  E