The 12th-century fortified tower of Thionville

The Tour aux Puces, originally known as the Tour de Mirabel or Tour de Meilburg in 1295, is a fortified structure from the 12th century. Its official name is believed to be a poor translation of the Lorrain Frankish Pëtztuurm, which means "tour au puits" or "tower of the well". Meilburg is a name that appears particularly in Messin documents. The tower served as the seat of the prevôté from 1292 to the mid-16th century. It also houses the Thionville city museum.

The Tour aux Puces is the oldest monument in Thionville. It occupies the site of an ancient Carolingian palatium mentioned in the mid-8th century. This fourteen-sided tower rests on a circular foundation and was built using many blocks of stone from earlier buildings, giving it a mixed appearance. It underwent restoration during the German annexation in 1880 and was heavily damaged by American bombings during the Second World War before being restored for the museum's opening in 1966.

A fanciful legend, born from a literal interpretation of the tower's name, tells of a princess of unknown name who was supposedly locked in the building's dungeon and eaten by thousands of fleas. According to this myth, only her hair and teeth remained intact and were preserved by the museum.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons