Bitche - Citadelle

Since the 12th century the fortress "Bytis Castrum" was known, located on a rock about 70 metres above the town. At that time the town belonged to the Duchy of Lorraine. Later Lorraine changed ownership to the counts of Zweibrücken-Bitsch, a line that became extinct in 1570. Bitche fell to the Lutheran County of Hanau Lichtenberg, but came back to Lorraine 36 years later and got re-catholicized. In 1680 France occupied the country. The subsequent reconstruction and redesign of the medieval castle to a modern fortress was done by Vauban.

During the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the fortress was besieged by Bavarian troops but could not be taken. After the war, Bitche was given to the German Empire as part of Alsace-Lorraine, but it changed back to France after WWI. It became German, after the French Campaign in the summer of 1940 and remained under German occupation. Since the end of WWII, it is - French again.