Giromagny

On the heights of Giromagny, Fort Dorsner dominates the Trouée de Belfort: does it still watch over the southern Vosges mountains?
Built between 1875 and 1879, Fort Dorsner was part of the Séré de Rivières military system, designed after the defeat of the 1870-1871 war. Its location near the border gave it a very important role: it had to watch over the road down from the Ballon d’Alsace to Belfort. This is why it was the most heavily armed in the region and was designed to withstand a three-month siege with its 650 men.
Imagine this 2.5-hectare trapezoidal earthen behemoth surrounded by a 7-metre deep and 10-metre wide ditch. The architecture of the barracks is particular, on 2 floors, around an octagonal courtyard to protect it from bombing. The masonry is made of local pink sandstone. The fort was put to the test of fire in 1940 when it was fired upon by German tanks, but was taken over by the German army. In 1941, the Germans shot a propaganda film about the capture of the Maginot Line and from 1942 onwards, they proceeded to completely scrap the fort. In 1944, when they retreated, they dynamited the entrance to the fort, which makes it look like a ruin today.
But dare to go through the entrance gate to discover the beautiful vaulted rooms that no longer make the sound of cannons ring out today. After decades of abandonment by the Army, the commune of Giromagny bought it in 1988 and entrusted the restoration, maintenance, enhancement and animation to the Fort Dorsner Association. For 30 years, the volunteers have cleared the vegetation, cleared the earth and rubble, put up the walls... they have set up and secured a visit circuit and are redoubling their imagination to organise and host cultural events, exhibitions and concerts of all styles of music.

Jérôme ROFFI
President of the Fort Dorsner Association
www.giromagny.fr
fort.dorsner@laposte.net