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… the Haute Meuse, Mézières gets its name from the first castle established under Charlemagne in 812 (Macerianae). This … by a new one which enclosed them. This urban wall was completed in around the 16th century. The 1500s years thus … de Rivières style and a battery were constructed on the site of Ayelles, some kilometres from the town, in 1877. …

… Gravelines Historique et description A site occupied by fishermen since the 7th century, Gravelines … ramparts and brick walls. It was also endowed with a castle intended to oversee the locks of the river Aa and its … not until midway through the 18th century that they were completed with the deepening of the Aa channel in 1740. …

… Salins-les-Bains History and description Situated in the valley of the river called Furieuse (altitude: 300 m.), the site of Salins-les-Bains has been occupied since the Gallic … as well as a watch tower on the plateau de Saint-André (in 1265 in the latter). The château Belin and the château Bracon …

… the right bank of the Savoureuse, Belfort grew from a castle of the 11th century guarding the Belfort Gap, between the … into a citadel. This regularisation of the route was also accompanied by an expansion of the perimeter of the urban … enjoy protection as an historic monument. They can be visited freely, with or without a guide – contact the …

… and description Created in 1597 by the Italian engineer Ercole Negro, the fort Barraux was constructed on the orders of … have originated from the two earlier fortifications, Bellecombe and La Buissière, which had been abandoned twenty … The internal buildings were thus dispersed over the site, with no effort made to redesign them. A barracks, …

… siege construction made by Litus, Cherbourg has had a castle since the 10th century. The first urban wall is thought … importance of the port which faced England. In 1639, the commissioner general of the navy of Louis XIII, Louis le … that Louis XVI agreed to reconsider Cherbourg as a site for a military port. In 1779, the engineer de Caux took …

… Lille History and description Coming into existence along a meandering stretch of the … was not finished until between 1672 and 1673. The choice of site was dictated by the topohydrography: the presence of …

… Abbeville History and description Manifest for the first time in … Longuetown was modified. However, these projects remained incomplete at the time of his passing in 1610. The cardinal of Richelieu, the Prime Minister under Louis XIII, visited the site on 29 October 1636 and ordered the …

… Fouras History and description A site fortified since the 12th century, the castle of Fouras was reconstructed during the 14th-15th … constructed on the former moats of Ferry, which remained incomplete. castle then fort François Ferry Charente-Maritime …

… Port-en-Bessin History and description The artillery tower of Port-en-Bessin was constructed in 1694 in … the War of the League of Augsburg. The engineer Benjamin de Combes completed it in based on the models of Vauban. The … classed as a historical monument since 1948 and can be visited. … Port-en-Bessin …

… Château du Taureau History and description A site occupied since the Antiquity, Morlaix remained without … was in 1540. At the time, it consisted of an artillery tower, named the tour Française, and a battery, the … by engineers Garangeau and Frézier. The fort was only completed in 1745, at the start of the war of Succession of …

… Hébihens Les origines de la construction de la tour Site stratégique pour la protection de la baie de la … visant à créer un asile aux navires de pêche. Le comte Louis de Pontbriand, capitaine garde-côte, commandite …

… Amédée V and became the subject of numerous power struggles from 1305 to 1601, whereupon it was finally given to … its destruction during a siege in 1815. The July Monarchy completed the defensive installations with the construction … of a road tunnel under the fort saw all interest in the site as the location of a fort lost. fort Sébastien le …

… description The village of Morvan, Epiry is not a fortified site. Its inclusion in this inventory is based on the fact … lived there during his first twenty years of marriage, at least when possible for him to do so. Vauban reorganised the … there in 1809 on the orders of Napoléon I in order to commemorate the fact that Vauban lived there. The church is …

… Ambleteuse History and description The first modern … date back to 1544-1546. In 1685, Vauban chose this site to build a coastal defensive battery, which was … one first rampart flanked the tower. Work at the site was completed in 1690, during the war of the League of …

… Toulon History and description A site occupied since prehistoric times, Toulon (Tholus … its inclusion in the Roman Provence in 120 AD. In the middle Ages, the town had its first fortifications built in the … the project in 1589 and directed the construction up to its completion in 1595. This urban wall was extended into the …

… several times during the following century before finally becoming a permanent part of France of Mazarin under the … the town. The urban wall remained however, from the middle Ages. In 1624, Louis XIII tasked Sublet de Noyers with … However the construction remained incomplete when Vauban visited in 1663. Accordingly, Vauban decided to gather …

… La Rochelle History and description A town founded in the 10th … the engineer Francis Ferry, a colleague of Vauban, to the site to reconstruct the urban wall there. This construction site was completed in 1724. The new urban wall was far bigger than …

… Valenciennes History and description Situated on the confluent … of Valenciennes appeared during the Roman period, on a site previously occupied by the Gauls. The first … been well preserved and surrounded the original nucleus comprising the eglise Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Cordon, the eglise …

… History and description A town of Gallo-Roman origin, Seyne-les-Alpes had its first fortifications built around 1220 … first wall with bastioned towers. Their construction was completed in 1692. Vauban did not visit Seyne but included … and enclosed one of the bastioned towers. In 1700, Vauban visited Seyne and thinks the citadel was poorly constructed …

… The château de la Latte can be traced back to at least the 14th century. Besieged multiple times, it was burnt and dismantled in 1597 during the Catholic … later, the engineer Garangeau renovated this ancient site, by transforming it into a coastal battery in 1691. The …

… Le Quesnoy History and description A town founded around … ever since it first came into being. The first urban wall comprised crenelated walls with a protected walkway and … ponds. The engineer Génédot, commissioned to come on-site, criticised it but did not offer any alternative …

… and later reinforced under the Arab occupation. The castle and town were constructed from the 8th century. … The fort Carré and the star tower were constructed from 1726 to 1770 to the north of the town in order to complete the … citadel and the fort Saint-Elme were preserved and can be visited. They house museums and exhibition spaces. The fort …

… the siege of Brest by the English, one that Vauban had repelled. The site had already been marked out in 1685 and a project of … gate was included in this front. Within the ramparts, the complete set-up included barracks, a guardroom, food stores, …

… a coastal defence. This fort was replaced by a medieval castle from the 12th century. Up to the 16th century, the … given the difficulties of developing what was a steep site, situated in the estuary of the river Penfeld, in the … became silted up. In 1667, the Knight of Clerville, Commissioner-General of the fortifications, set up a project …

… A town of ancient origin, Nice has been fortified since at least the middle Ages. In the 14th century, the area of the … on the orders of Emmanuel-Philibert I of Savoy. A hornwork comprising two orillon bastions was built in front of the … county of Nice, ordered this construction in 1677. Vauban visited Nice for the first time in 1693, two years after it …