The best walks and hikes around Pfetterhausen

Observation post No. 2 in Largin was a Swiss wooden blockhouse during the First World War. From here, Swiss soldiers observed the French and German positions just a few hundred meters away and monitored Swiss neutrality. The post was thus located immediately at the southern end of the Western Front. The original blockhouse was reconstructed in 2012 based on historical models and can be visited today.

Kilometer 0 – Border stone of the Western Front The border stone No. 111 at Largin near Pfetterhouse marks the so-called “Kilomètre Zéro”, the southern starting point of the Western Front in World War I. From autumn 1914, the front ran here between France and Germany; on the Swiss side, the neutral Swiss army observed the events. From this point, the front line stretched for around 750 km to the North Sea. Today, the border stone, the reconstructed Swiss observation post, and numerous trenches and bunkers commemorate this special section of the Western Front.

The „German infantry outpost at the Largue bridge“ is indeed an interesting installation from the First World War. It is located at the so-called Kilomètre Zéro, where the former Western Front began on the Franco-Swiss border near Pfetterhouse / Mooslargue. The installation is designated as structure No. 8. It was a small concrete casemate for observation and defense. It was built by German troops in the autumn of 1915. Its task was primarily to monitor the exit of the road bridge over the Largue. From there, it was possible to observe whether French soldiers were advancing across the bridge or along the road. The five firing slits are particularly interesting. Together, they covered approximately a 180° area. This allowed the crew to control a relatively large section in front of the position. This is particularly exciting: the road bridge at the time had a stone arch. It was destroyed by the Germans in 1917 because a French attack with tanks was feared. It is also interesting that other German installations are located nearby – including a machine gun outpost at the Moos bridge, blocking positions, and another infantry casemate. The entire area can be explored today via the „Sentier du Kilomètre Zéro“.

The railway bridges near Pfetterhouse The former Largtalbahn Dannemarie–Pfetterhouse–Bonfol ran directly through the front line. The French army not only used the infrastructure for transport but also integrated the railway line and its bridges into the military infrastructure. The bridges in Bannholz, immediately east/southeast of Pfetterhouse station, are particularly interesting. Today, remnants of the former railway bridges can still be seen there. https://www.flickr.com/photos/94033413@N06/albums/72157633003469056/

The Largtalbahn: Dannemarie–Pfetterhouse–Bonfol The line was called Largtalbahn in German, or the Dannemarie–Pfetterhouse railway line. It ran from Dannemarie (Dammerkirch) through the Largtal via Dannemarie → Altenach → Mertzen → Friesen → Seppois-le-Bas → Pfetterhouse → Swiss border → Bonfol → Porrentruy. The French section was about 20 km long. The line opened in 1910 and was initially a connection within the then German Empire, or between the German Empire and Switzerland. When the line was built, Alsace still belonged to the German Empire. The state treaty for the railway connection between Pfetterhausen and Bonfol was concluded in 1906 between the German Empire and Switzerland. With the start of the First World War, cross-border traffic was stopped. The border between Pfetterhouse and Bonfol was closed. At the same time, Pfetterhouse was located directly at the southern end of the Western Front. The railway could no longer be used simply as a normal international connection. The military significance of the area was considerable: military operations took place in the forests on both sides of the border, partly to prevent Alsatians from fleeing to Switzerland. Even today, traces of shell impacts are still present there.

At border post 111, on the French-Swiss border near Pfetterhouse, the Western Front of the First World War officially began in the autumn of 1914. This spot, where the borders of France, Germany and Switzerland had previously met, became the symbolic Kilometre Zero of a front line that stretched over 750 kilometres to the North Sea. Today it is a peaceful spot along a hiking and cycling trail, where you literally stand at the start of one of the most defining fronts in modern history.

This old railway bridge in pink sandstone, located on the route of the former railway line between Bonfol (Switzerland) and Pfetterhouse, is today a charming part of the cycle route on the Altmühlenweg trail. The bridge was rebuilt to allow cyclists and hikers to pass safely and is a tangible reminder of the time when Pfetterhouse was a strategic border station between France, Germany and Switzerland. From 1871 to 1914, it was the "tri-border point" of Europe, and during the First World War the Western Front began here at the so-called Kilometre Zero.

The boundary markers mark the border and demarcate the territory. After the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Alsace became German and a D replaced the fleur-de-lis. After the First World War (1914-18), Alsace became French again and an F was carved over the D, which sometimes still appears, despite the oblique erasure. 1743: Ancien Régime, likely installation of the old boundary markers with the crozier of the former bishopric of Basel and the fleur-de-lis. 1817: The Bernese bear replaced the bishop's crozier following the Congress of Vienna (1815), which reorganized Europe after the fall of Napoleon and assigned the territory of the former bishopric of Basel to the canton of Bern.