perched on a rock about 80 metres above the town of Bitche, the citadel was built from 1680 onwards by order of Louis XIV, who enlisted the military genius of famous French architect Vauban.
The Erbsenweiher, also known as Erbsenthalweiher (%u201CWeiher%u201D is German for pond), owes its name to the former Erbsenthal estate, which is situated between the communes of Sturzelbronn and Éguelshardt. More precisely, it comprises the terrain between the wooded hills of the Biesenberg (376 m), the Abstberg (375 m), the Erbsenberg (402 m) and the Rothenberg (358 m). The Erbsenthal estate has its origin in the Rothenbach creek bed, swollen with the waters of the Moosbach creek and the Zinsel river. It extends over an area of 33 ½ hectares on both sides of the Zinsel: the left bank belongs to the commune of Sturzelbronn (24,5 hectares) while the right bank is part of the commune of Éguelshardt (9 hectares). The Erbsenweiher has a water surface of 5,5 hectares. It is situated 500 metres downstream from a pond formed by the Rothenbach creek on the height of the Biesenberg forest lodge.
In the past, the ERA fishing pond was used as cooling basin. For more than 20 years, a fishing club has used it as a fishing pond. The basin is 310m long, 101m wide and between 3,5 and 7m deep.
an agricultural business in its immediate proximity, the farmhouse, typical in style for the Lorraine region, is still being used in its original sense and function
picturesque hilly landscape, typical for the region around Schwerdorff. Narrow rural roads, in part, lined with trees. Far reaching view, sparse population
Bitche Citadel
perched on a rock about 80 metres above the town of Bitche, the citadel was built from 1680 onwards by order of Louis XIV, who enlisted the military genius of famous French architect Vauban.