ROOTS part 2 (Belfort)

And so we came to spend David’s birthday weekend in Belfort.



Belfort is a lovely city with about 52,700 people and a very impressive history. It is situated in a gap that has been considered strategic since the time of Julius Caesar and even before. It has been under siege and conquered and reconquered many times and still has remnants of the fortifications and walls that have protected the city through the centuries. However, one siege in particular stands out above all the rest.

During the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71, France was swiftly humiliated and crushed by the Prussians.  The Prussians sent an army of 40,000 men against Belfort, expecting the French, outnumbered 3:1, to immediately retreat into the Citadel at Belfort. Under the leadership of Colonel Denfert-Rochereau, the French tenaciously defended the approaches to the city for four, weekls, slowly rerteating into the Citadel.  Belfort held out for a remarkable 103 days – including  in 83 days of continuous bombardment totalling 400,000 rounds from 200 pieces of artillery!  The defenders only marched out after being ordered to do so by the French Government.  When the war ended and the Treaty of Frankfort was signed, Alsace and Lorraine were annexed by Germany – that is all of Alsace EXCEPT Belfort. The town of Belfort remained French. In 1918, after the German defeat in WW I, Alsace and Lorraine became French once more, but the Territoire de Belfort did not join Haut-Rhin and officially became the 90th French department in 1922. The folks of Belfort remain rightfully proud of the town’s freedom and heroic resistance against the Prussian Army. The Citadel retains a commanding view over Belfort and the surrounding area and has become a symbol of the town’s identity, and Colonel Denfert-Rochereau is still revered as a hero not only in Belfort, but in all of France.

Federic-Auguste Bartholdi (sculptor of the Statue of Liberty) was so moved by Belfort’s heroism that he created a huge lion sculpture facing the town at the base of the citadel. The statue is 22 meters long and 11 meters high and built of blocks of red sandstone. Bartholdi described it as “harassed, cornered and terrible in its fury.” It took him eight years to complete and is easily visible from town. The lion has become the official symbol of Belfort and is a part of its city crest. 

We stayed in Le Grand Hôtel du Tonneau d'Or. The hotel first opened its doors in 1902, and, as you can see in these pictures, is a gracious and impressive edifice. The Germans thought so, too, and “requisitioned” it for their use in WWII. The hotel fell into disrepair and closed in 1956 but was renovated and reopened in 1992. The interior is truly lovely as you can see below. The impressive stairway is flanked on both sides with enormous stained glass windows by Jacques Gruber, one of the leaders in the Art Nouveau style and a renowned artist of l'École des Beaux-Arts de Nancy. (Art Nouveau was an artistic movement of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries that relied on the aesthetics of curved lines. It was born as a reaction to industrialization and was a short, powerful, international movement; Louis Comfort Tiffany is probably the best example of an artist of this school in the United States.) Gruber created stained glass windows for the liner Île de France and Galeries Lafayette de Paris among other notable clients. As you can see, there are also sculptures in the entry and on the landing. The hotel is also centrally located which allowed us to park our rental car and walk around town and explore.

David will be continuing our saga…