The entrance to Fort Hackenberg is on a hill near Veckring, France. Fort Hackenberg is the largest underground complex in a series of forts known as the Maginot Line that was designed to halt a German attack on France's eastern border. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
The entrance to Fort Hackenberg is on a hill near Veckring, France. Fort Hackenberg is the largest underground complex in a series of forts known as the Maginot Line that was designed to halt a German attack on France's eastern border. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Sarah Weber, a guide at Fort Hackenberg, shows visitors an 8-ton blast door. Fort Hackenberg, near Veckring, France, is the largest among a series of underground fortifications known as the Maginot Line. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Fort Hackenberg, France, housed more than 1,000 soldiers when it was in active operation. This display shows the typical food and equipment that fed those soldiers. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Sarah Weber, left, a guide at Fort Hackenberg, explains where the various types of ammunition were stored in the underground complex. Fort Hackenberg is the largest in a series of fortifications known as the Maginot Line. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
The Fort Hackenberg museum near Veckring, France, contains a number of displays illustrating equipment used during the time it served as a fortification. This display is of common military and civilian equipment used during gas attacks. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
The museum inside Fort Hackenberg, near Veckring, France, features a large collection of firearms and other memorabilia. Hackenberg is the largest of the fortifications that make up the Maginot Line. Built in the 1930s, the Maginot Line was designed to stop an attack on the eastern border with Germany. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
The museum inside Fort Hackenberg, France, features a large collection of memorabilia and equipment from the time of its active operation. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
A collection of shell casings and bullets is on display inside the Fort Hackenberg museum. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
One display reflects what living conditions were like for many of the soldiers living at Fort Hackenberg in the 1930s. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Visitors to Fort Hackenberg, France, view a collection of uniform items used by various countries. The museum inside the underground fortification features a large collection of memorabilia and equipment from the time of its active operation. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
An electric train takes visitors between destinations in the underground complex at Fort Hackenberg. Hackenberg is among the forts that made up the Maginot Line, built in the 1930s to stop an attack on the eastern border with Germany. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Armored gun turrets overlook a valley near Veckring, France. The turrets are a part of Fort Hackenberg, an underground complex built in the 1930s to protect France's eastern border from a German attack. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
A dual 135 mm gun turret draws visitors at Fort Hackenberg, France. Built in the 1930s, it is still functional. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Part of Fort Hackenberg, near Veckring, France, was heavily damaged by Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army during the advance on Metz, France, in 1944. Hackenberg is the largest underground complex among the series of forts known as the Maginot Line. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
An American M10 tank destroyer marks the entrance to Fort Hackenberg. Open to the public, Hackenberg is a large, underground complex that is part of the Maginot Line. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
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The French suffered terrible losses in the trenches in World War I. To prevent, or at least delay, a future German invasion, they built a series of large underground fortifications on France’s eastern border, from Luxembourg to Switzerland.
The Maginot Line, as it became known, was constructed in the 1930s. Named after Andre Maginot, at the time France’s minister of war, it consisted of heavily fortified bunkers, gun emplacements, artillery pieces and mortars.
Impressive though it was, this feat of military engineering failed to stop the Germans, who in 1940 simply bypassed the line by cutting through neutral Belgium. They defeated France within six weeks.
After World War II, many of the structures were abandoned and fell into disrepair. Some of the larger forts were used as border defense and bomb shelters during the Cold War.
Fort Hackenberg was one of the first structures erected as part of the line. Along with some other fortifications, it is now open to visitors, who can tour the underground complex, take a short train ride or check out a museum displaying firearms and a variety of military memorabilia. It’s located near Veckring, France, about a 90-minute drive from Kaiserslautern, Germany. Most of the tour is on foot and can take two or three hours.
There’s plenty to see: the magazine, where ammunition was stored and separated from living areas by an 8-ton blast door; several kitchen areas, where food was prepared for the more than 1,000 soldiers stationed there; and barracks.
An electric train leaves from the museum and takes visitors on a brief ride within the fortress. Besides the railway system, there are other things that visitors can observe in action, including a large and very noisy diesel generator and a turret that weighs several tons. To get to the latter, you’ll have to climb 146 stairs up a steep staircase. Guides demonstrate the turret’s ability to raise, lower and rotate 135 mm twin cannons.
Part of the tour is on the hill atop the fortress. There, visitors can see the outside of the retractable cannon turret, machine-gun turrets and a portion of the fort that was heavily damaged by Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army during the advance on Metz, France.
Although it’s not the friendliest tour for people with limited mobility, there is a lot to learn at this historic site. Since the temperature inside the fort averages 54 degrees Fahrenheit, even in the summer, dress appropriately.
