The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Pfalzburg

PFALZBURG (Fr. Phalsbourg), a town of the German Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine, included before 1871 in the French department of Meurthe, 25 m. N. W. of Strasburg; pop. about 4,300. It occupies a strong position on the W. declivity of the Vosges, commanding one of their passes, and under French rule was a fortress of the second class. In the late war it maintained a gallant defence against the Germans for four months under its commander Taillant, finally surrendering on Dec. 12, 1870. The number of prisoners was 1,900. In 1872 the dismantlement of the town was begun, the new frontiers having greatly diminished its strategical importance.