BITSCH (French, Bitche), formerly Kaltenhausen, a town and fortress in German Lorraine, on the River Horn, at the foot of the northern slope of the Vosges, between Hagenau and Saargemund. ‘ It was originally a countship in the possession of the counts of Alsace and Flanders, but was bestowed by Frederick III. on the dukes of Lorraine, and at length passed with that duchy to France in 1738. After that date it rapidly increased, and its citadel, which had been constructed by Vauban on the site of the ducal palace, was restored and strengthened. The attack upon it by the Prussians in 1793 was repulsed, and although the Bavarians occupied the town in 1815 and 1818, they did not get possession of the fort. In the war of 1870 it was blockaded by the Germans in vain, and only surrendered in 1871, after the campaign was over. A large part of the fortification is excavated in the red-sandstone rock, and rendered bomb-proof; while a supply of water is secured to the garrison by the possession of a deep well in the interior. The inhabitants of the town, who in 1871 numbered 3047, manufacture watch-glasses and matches, and carry on a trade in grain, cattle, wood, and peats.