A collection of 12 groups of fortified buildings and other sites, located along the northern, eastern, and western borders of France, the Fortifications of Vauban are named for the military engineer who designed them. Sebastian Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707) was considered the best designer of fortifications of his era and was the advisor to Louis XIV, counseling the king on how to make France’s borders more defensible. The list of buildings and sites that received the nod from UNESCO includes towns, city walls, forts, citadels, and watchtowers.
-
Fortifications of Vauban Gallery
-
Guide to Fortifications of Vauban
Included in the collection of 12 sites and buildings that make up the Fortifications of Vauban are:
- Besançon– At this location on the River Doubs, Vauban enhanced existing fortifications and built new ones. The citadel was built on a rocky spur and was made higher for better protection. Visitors can head to Fort Griffon and also view the six cannon towers Vauban built here.
- Briançon– The town of Briancon on the east coast sits in a very strategic position where five valleys meet. Vauban covered the high slopes with forts and placed a church on the most exposed bastion, hoping that enemies would not attack it.
- Mont-Dauphin – On the southeast coast, Mont-Dauphin was fortified in order to prevent attacks from Italy. Dubbed the “archetypical mountain stronghold”, Mont-Dauphin boasts an arsenal, two powder magazines, a rampart, and an incomplete church.
- Villefranche de Conflent – Sitting at the bottom of the country, Villefranche de Conflent is in the hollow of a deep valley. Vauban altered the town’s medieval walls for a better defense. He also ordered a building of a fort on the highest ground and called it Fort Liberia. All the buildings there are extremely well preserved.
- Mont-Louis – Situated in the Eastern Pyrenees Mountains, Mont-Louis is a great example of a mountain citadel. Everything here was built from scratch including watch towers and two churches. Their condition is excellent.
- Blaye/Cussac-Fort-Médoc – Around the town of Blaye, Vauban planned a new town wall that included four bastions, two gates, and three demi-lunes, all added to the remains of the medieval wall. He also added Fort Medoc, Fort Pate, and an oval cannon tower, the latter considered a remarkable feat of 17th century engineering.
- Saint-Martin-de-Ré – This is the best preserved example of an island reduit, consisting of a semicircular town wall, a citadel, and buildings to accommodate 1,200 men, include barracks, a chapel, an arsenal, and an officer’s pavilion.
- Camaret-sur-Mer – This is the location of the Camaret Tower, built to prevent the capture of the port of Brest. Today, it sits inside Iroise Marine Park and Armorique National Regional Park. The tower is fitted in a low semi-circular battery.
- Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue – Two towers were built here to protect the Cotentin Coast. They were meant for observation, for firing out to sea, and for communication via signals. The Hougue Tower is open to the public.
- Arras – This town at the top of France features one of Vauban’s first citadels. It is pentagon-shaped, built around a rectangular courtyard. It was discovered later, however, that it was in a bad strategic position. Today, the area around it functions as a park.
- Longwy – Louis XIV destroyed the old medieval town here and had Vauban build a new one. The fortress at Longwy is hexagonal with six bastions, and other structures on site include a church, arsenal, and barracks.
- Neuf-Brisach – Another town built from scratch, Neuf-Brisach is considered Vauban’s most impressive urban planning project. About 4,000 people inhabited the town, which was divided into 48 blocks set around a central parade ground.
-
Video of Fortifications of Vauban
[youtube id="Cdblgivtudw" width="730"]
-
History of Fortifications of Vauban
Taken as a military prisoner in 1653 at the age of 20, Sebastian Le Prestre de Vauban was in the service of Louis XIV for 53 years. Appointed as engineer to the king at age 22, he was an expert in stronghold attack procedures. An expert in breaking through fortifications as well as building them, Vauban changed France’s fortifications dramatically when he recommended the “bastion” method, pioneered by the Dutch and Italians. This allowed for a full range on which to attack oncoming troops and also kept those inside the fort safer.
At the beginning of his career, however, Vauban was in direct contention with Louis’ other right-hand man, Chevalier de Clerville, for the right to design the fortifications, so his influence was limited. After Chevalier died in 1678, however, Vauban was put in charge of all fortification projects, mostly devoting himself to coastal and land defenses in Flanders and Alsace but also working in other parts of the country. It is said he traveled 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) each year to build and repair fortifications.
-
Getting to Fortifications of Vauban
The Fortifications of Vauban stretch across the country. Hence, many visitors will choose to visit just a few according to where they are traveling. However, an auto tour of all the fortifications is possible though would take quite some time.
Most of the sites can be visited without cost though there is a small fee for tours of some of the fortifications or other buildings.
-
Fortifications of Vauban News
[RSSImport display="10" feedurl="http://news.google.com/news?q=vauban+fortification&hl=en&safe=off&ie=UTF-8&output=rss" displaydescriptions="true" html="true" start_items="
" end_items="
" paging="false" date="true"]
-
Fortifications of Vauban Tours
-
Fortifications of Vauban Weather
Comments