Neuf-Brisach(means New Breisach) is a fortified town and commune of the department of Haut-Rhin in Alsace, France. Designed by the military engineer Vauban, the fortified town was intended to guard the border between France and the Holy Roman Empire and, subsequently, the German states. It was built after the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 that resulted in France losing the town of Breisach, on the opposite bank of the Rhine. The town’s layout was that of an ‘ideal city’, as was popular at the time, with a regular square grid street pattern inside an octagonal fortification.
The layout followed an ‘ideal city’ design, with a regular square grid street pattern within an octagonal fortification
The peculiarity of Neuf-Brisach is its unique urban form. In addition to the octagonal shape, other distinctive details include the central parade ground (today’s market square), clean and unbroken lines, and a checkerboard street network within the fortress walls. This was the location of the soldiers’ and officers’ quarters, utilities, a church, and houses for non-military residents. Simple housing was built inside each curtain wall, shielding better houses from cannon fire. The town is surrounded by a very impressive complex of walls, gates and moats. Large gateways in the principal curtain walls provided access. Neuf-Brisach was bombed several times in past wars – but has been almost completely preserved to this day.
The town suffered damage in World War II but still represents a very clear example of the latest in fortification work at the beginning of the eighteenth century. During World War II, it was occupied by Germany, which operated a Dulag transit camp for French prisoners of war.
Today Neuf-Brisach is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its quintessential military fortifications and testimony to the influence of Vauban on military architecture during the 17-19th centuries
