Bald Castle

One of the two hidden entrances to the Kahl Castle

The Kahl Castle is a 1942 military structure of the Second World War in Normandy in Le Tréport . It was built by the Todt organization, mainly using female forced laborers from Ukraine , and was codenamed Wn Tre06 . The Kahl Castle is completely dug into the chalk cliffs above Le Tréport, consists of 32 rooms on four floors and has five openings to the sea and the city, including three observation posts and two combat posts.

description

Rotating 75 mm cannon in one of two combat posts

The construction was the direct reaction of the German military to Operation Jubilee : On August 19, 1942, the Allies, mostly Canadian soldiers, attacked the neighboring city of Dieppe , which was occupied by the Wehrmacht . This attack failed, but made additional coastal protection measures necessary.

Le Tréport was also chosen because of the city's rail link. The concrete and clinker structure probably got its name from the treeless, bare top of the cliffs. It cannot be seen from the city with the naked eye.

The construction work was carried out by around 200 female forced laborers in 14-hour shifts. They were housed in camps in the neighboring Eu . About 20 of these prisoners died and are buried in Eu.

Interior view as a 360 ° panorama
Display as a spherical panorama

The Kahl-Burg has two steel doors as entrances from the street. All corridors together cover 270 meters and 225 steps. The crew consisted of about 60 soldiers, most of whom slept in folding beds in the corridors. The sparse interior came from the Hotel Le Trianon , which was later blown up and connected to the city by cable car . The workers were instructed to turn the light blue tiles so that the enamel color was not visible in the masonry. In order to improve the view of the harbor, the German military had parts of numerous historical buildings demolished.

The Kahl-Burg was at a high technical level and largely self-sufficient. It had a sophisticated heating and ventilation system, and the cold rooms near the kitchen consisted of double walls for better thermal insulation. A water tank from above provided fresh water. The complex had two toilets.

The masonry is almost completely lined with clinker bricks, but was not completely finished because the Allies landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944 , and on September 1, 1944, Le Tréport was liberated by Canadian marines and the Kahl Castle was taken.

In the following decades looting and damage took place. A house was built directly between the two entrances. In 2001, the citizens' initiative Le Mur de la Manche began to restore the original condition. She offers guided tours for small groups in consultation. There is a collection of militaria in the entrance area. Two of the interiors are equipped with museum display cases. The average temperature is around 10 ° C all year round.