Chartaque

The Eppinger Linien stretch across 86 kilometres from Pforzheim to Neckargemünd. Built between 1695 and 1697 under Markgraf Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden, they formed a defence line against French raids during the War of the Palatinate Succession. The lines were tested in May 1696 when 36,000 French troops under General Claude de Choiseul failed to advance past Zaisenhausen and Sickingen. The fortifications consisted of a 40-metre-wide Verhack, a dense barrier of branches and tree trunks, followed by a 2.5-metre-deep ditch. Earth from the ditch was piled behind to form a rampart. Wooden watchtowers called Chartaques stood along the line, each measuring six by six metres at the base and rising twelve metres high. Today, reconstructions of these towers can be seen near Eppingen and Mühlacker. Another stands on the Waldschanz south of Niefern-Öschelbronn, built in 1998 as a twelve-metre-high viewing tower. The Eppinger-Linien-Weg follows the route, marked by stylised Chartaque symbols, leading through the Stromberg-Heuchelberg nature park with information boards about the historic earthworks.