("He was born at Kreuznach") became a byword in German for somebody who had to struggle with a great deal of hardship. On 19 August 1663, the town was stricken by an extraordinarily high flood on the river Nahe. Nine Years' War In the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg, or War of the Palatine Succession), the Kauzenburg (castle) was conquered on 5 October 1688 by Marshal Louis François, duc de Boufflers. The town fortifications and the castle were torn down and the town of Kreuznach largely destroyed in May 1689 by French troops under Brigadier Ezéchiel du Mas, Comte de Mélac (about 1630–1704) or Lieutenant General Marquis Nicolas du Blé d’Uxelles. On 18 October 1689, Kreuznach's churches were burnt down. 18th century As of 1708, Kreuznach wholly belonged to Electoral Palatinate. Under Elector Palatine Karl III Philipp, the Karlshalle Saltworks were built in 1729. Built in 1743 by Prince-Elector, Count Palatine and Duke Karl Theodor were the Theodorshalle Saltworks. On 13 May 1725, after a cloudburst and hailstorm, Kreuznach was stricken by an extreme flood in which 31 people lost their lives, some 300 or 400 head of cattle drowned, two houses were utterly destroyed and many damaged and remaining parts of the town wall fell in. Taking part at the founding of the Masonic Lodge Zum wiedererbauten Tempel der Bruderliebe ("To the Rebuilt Temple of Brotherly Love") in Worms in 1781 were also Freemasons from Kreuznach. As early as 1775, the Grand Lodge of the Rhenish Masonic Lodges (8th Provincial Grand Lodge) of Strict Observance had already been given the name "Kreuznach". In the extreme winter of 1783/1784, the town was heavily damaged on 27–28 February 1784 by an icerun and flooding. A pharmacist named Daniel Riem was killed in his house "Zum weißen Schwan" ("At the White Swan") when it collapsed into the floodwaters. French Revolutionary and Napoleonic times In the course of the Napoleonic Wars (1792–1814), French emigrants came to Kreuznach, among them Prince Louis Joseph of Condé. In October 1792, French Revolutionary troops under General Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine occupied the land around Kreuznach, remaining there until 28 March 1793. The town itself was briefly occupied by French troops under General François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers on 4 January and then again on 16 October 1794. From 30 October until 1 December 1795, the town was held by Imperial troops under Rhinegrave