Casemates du Bock

In 963, Count Siegfried acquired the Bock from St. Maximin's Abbey in exchange for land in Feulen. The site already contained a fortification called "Lucilinburhuc" with Roman and Frankish origins. Under Conrad I, it became the residence of Luxembourg's Counts. The fortress was repeatedly attacked, captured and rebuilt by Burgundians (1473), Habsburgs (1477), and Spaniards (1555). In the 1640s, Swiss engineer Treybach significantly modified the defenses, dividing the Bock into three sections. In 1684, Vauban captured then reconstructed the fortifications, emphasizing underground passages. During the Austrian period (1744), General Neipperg expanded these casemates, creating a 110m main passage with 25 cannon positions that could shelter hundreds of soldiers. The fortress withstood a seven-month French siege in 1794, earning it the nickname "Gibraltar of the North." The fortifications were finally demolished following the 1867 Treaty of London at a cost of 1.5 million gold francs over 16 years.