And here is another gem I had overlook!! Incredible. I have post on the Grund/Petrusse but not the Casement Bock! Well thanks for the times, I look into it and will give it credit in this blog with new text and older pictures. I hope you enjoy the Casement Bock or just Bock of Luxembourg city!!!
Needless to tell you as you can read from my many posts on Luxembourg that this is one of our favorite spot in Europe. One I almost came to work and have collegues from the country who worked with me in France. Bragging to tell you met the Duchess is a native of Cuba. Let me get to the history of it I like.
The Bock sits at 2 montée de Clausen just over the Castle bridge, you cross the Pont du Stierchen bridge and over the Alzette viaduc train rails, A lovely spot for walks and full of architecture and historical buildings, We parked in the city by the theater and walk all over but if public transports you need, the bus lines 9,14, and 15 pass by the Bock.
The Bock rock or the Bock is a promontory located in the Ville-Haute, the historic center of Luxembourg city, offering a natural fortification to the city, thanks to its rocky cliffs overlooking the Alzette which surrounds it on three sides. Le Bock is the site where Sigefroid de Luxembourg established its castle in 963 and founded the current Grand-Ducal city. Nowadays, the ruins of the old castle and the casemates, the underground galleries of the fortifications, remain and constitute a major tourist spot of the city, forming part of the sector classified as World Heritage by UNESCO.
The main passage, which still exists, is 110 meters long and measures up to 7 meters wide. The branches starting from either side were equipped with no less than 25 gun positions, 12 in the north and 13 in the south, offering considerable firepower. In the event of war, the Bock casemates, with an area of 1,100 m2, could be used as barracks for several hundred soldiers. The water came from a well 47 meters deep.
A bit of history I like
The first historical mention of Bock is in fact in connection with a watchtower or fortification on the Roman road from Reims to Trier which, in 723, was ceded by Charles Martel, Duke of the Franks, to the Saint-Maximin Abbey in Trier, It was in 963 that Count Sigefroid of Luxembourg, in search of a site where he could defend his properties, obtained the Bock and its surroundings from the Saint-Maximin Abbey in Trier (see post) in exchange for the land he owned. in Feulen in the Ardennes to the north.
Over the centuries, the castle of Sigefroid on the Bock was considerably enlarged and protected by ramparts and additional defenses. In 987, the chapel of the castle was built at the Marché-aux-Poissons (fish market) nearby. The current Saint-Michel Church (see post) is on the same site.The Bock was also reinforced with three forts, the Grand Bock, the Moyen Bock and the Petit Bock , separated from each other by notches in the rock and connected by bridges. As a result, little remains of the medieval castle
A little later in 1684, in the name of Louis XIV, Vauban succeeded in seizing the city of Luxembourg after a month-long siege under which the fortifications of Bock were completely razed. Subsequently Vauban, undertook significant additions to the defenses, realizing that the 23 km of underground passages and chambers were just as important as the surface installations. This multi-story defense system included galleries dug up to 40 meters deep. This is where the city got its nickname “Gibraltar of the North”. The Grand Bock, linked to the old town by the Castle Bridge, has been reinforced. Surrounded by a wall twelve meters high, it was the major element of the new fortress. In addition to these structures, the Bock also included a system of casemates from the cellars of the medieval castle. The Castle Bridge built in 1735 by the Austrians, this bridge connects the Bock to the old town. On two levels, it offers four passage ways: the upper road, the passage under the arches of the second level, a spiral staircase and a road under the arch supporting the first level. The fortifications enabled the city to withstand a seven-month siege in 1794, during the French revolutionary wars. When the garrison finally surrendered, the fortifications remained intact. The fortifications were finally demolished under the terms of the Treaty of London of 1867.
The Luxembourg city tourist office on the bock : https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/castle/bock-casemates-luxembourg
The service of sites and national monuments of Luxembourg on the bock: https://ssmn.public.lu/fr/itineraires_culturels/itineraire_culturel_forteresse/wenzel/bock.html
There you go folks, another dandy spot in quant nice Luxembourg Ville. We love it and the Bock is an excellent spot to visit while in town. Hope you enjoy the post and do visit as I will again.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 