The Lion of Belfort

The Lion of Belfort is a colossal lion carved from red sandstone against the rock face below the citadel, and it is the symbol of the town. It is about eleven metres high and twenty-two metres long, and it can be seen from much of the old town. The sculptor was Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, a native of nearby Colmar, who a few years later designed the Statue of Liberty. The lion shows an animal that has been wounded but still stands defiant, with its head turned and one paw lowered, a pose that Bartholdi made to represent resistance.

The monument commemorates the siege of Belfort during the Franco-Prussian War, in the winter of 1870 and 1871. The garrison of the fortress, commanded by Colonel Pierre Denfert-Rochereau, held out against Prussian forces for 103 days, and it surrendered only when it was ordered to do so by the French government, after the armistice had been signed. The defenders left with the honours of war, and as part of the peace agreement the Territoire de Belfort stayed French while most of Alsace was lost to Germany. That makes the town a symbol of French resistance, and it is why the monument was raised here. Work took place in the second half of the 1870s, with the sculpture assembled from large blocks of stone cut to Bartholdi's plan, and it was completed around 1880.

A smaller bronze copy of the lion stands in the Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris, near the entrance to the Catacombs, and it is a reminder of how widely the image spread. The lion in Belfort is a different experience because of its scale and setting. Visitors can walk up to the foot of the rock, where the full size of the animal can be seen, and then climb on the paths that lead up through parkland to the citadel and its ramparts for views of the town and the surrounding hills. The museum in the citadel includes a section on Bartholdi's work, and the Tour 41 – Musée d'Art moderne, Donation Maurice-Jardot in the old town covers art and history. The visit itself is outdoors and free, so it can be fitted in at almost any time.

The best views are from the street below in the morning, when the light falls on the stone, and from the citadel terraces in the afternoon. In the evening the lion is floodlit. It suits history lovers, photographers and families, and it can be combined with a walk through the old streets near the Théâtre de Belfort and the Marché Couvert. For a longer trip, Fort de Joux in the Jura mountains is another fortress in the region.