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… 1690 on a rock bordering the strait which separates the île of Oléron from the continent. The War Minister Louvois commissioned Michel Begon, Intendant of Rochefort, with the … given the problems of stability of the subsoil, at the site which was flooded at high tide. On 19 June, 1691, …

… the beach of Sablanceaux, on the south-east flank of the Isle of Rhé, dates back to 1673, during the war of Holland. It … the redoubt was insufficient since it was vulnerable to a surprise attack. This was why he suggested replacing it with … 1756, at the start of the Seven Years war. From 1846, the site was upgraded to keep pace with progress in artillery. …

… Homburg Les premières fortifications Situé dans une vallée barrée en partie par une colline rocheuse, le site d’Homburg est occupé au moins depuis l’époque romaine. … développe à son pied. Ce château est acquis en 1492 par les comtes de Nassau-Saarbrücken. Ils commanditent les premières …

… Fort d’Alès Le château féodal d’Alès Alès dispose d’un château depuis le … plusieurs fois assiégé et reconstruit au cours des siècles. L’ancien château des seigneurs d’Alais était en très … en 1687 que le fort bastionné pentagonal actuel est édifié sur cet emplacement sur les plans de François Ferry. Pour …

… construction there. In the 1660s, the Knight of Clerville proposed the construction of an important port … there, but the project was abandoned. In 1679, Vauban visited Collioure and Port-Vendres. He set out a military port … came to nothing. The engineer Rousselot got no further than completing minor fortifications in 1693. Three redoubts …

… Perpignan History and description Founded on a strategic site since Antiquity, Perpignan became the residence of the … fortifications were built in the form of a primitive Cellera, very rapidly replaced by an initial urban wall, of … also equipped with ravelins. This initial construction was completed in 1577 but others followed in the 16th and 17th …

… the town, which was finally taken by the protestant Lesdiguières in 1585 and ruined. Under the protestant … Embrun was taken and stricken. The following year, Vauban visited it and set out a memo for the defence of the city. … was intended to replace the first should Mont-Dauphin not come to fruition. The first project was only partially …

… Palatine had to sell it in 1583 to the Duke of Lorraine Charles III. The town was razed during the Thirty Years War, to … were left standing in 1650. In 1661, Duke Charles IV was compelled to cede it to Louis XIV and to cardinal Mazarin, … remained the first minister of the king. In 1679, Vauban visited Phalsbourg in the company of Louvois, the war Minister …

… Située au débouché d’une vallée sur la plaine du Pô, la ville de Pignerol apparaît au Moyen Âge et reçoit alors ses … à transformer l’enceinte urbaine et l’enclavement complet du château médiéval, construits en terre et … célèbre Masque de Fer. Les interventions de Vauban Vauban visite les lieux pour la première fois en 1669. Il signe un …

… and the Crinchon stream meet, Arras was endowed with a double urban wall at the end of the middle Ages. The first … to apply and direct in person. The construction was complete in 1670. The citadel that resulted was in the form of a square, positioned within a fortified pentagon, surrounded by moats and defensive water features created by …

… Joux line had disappeared; the Duke of Burgundy Philippe le Bon bought it in 1454. The castle was besieged in 1475 by … by the French in 1674 during the second conquest of Franche-Comté, the Château de Joux became French as of this time. … earth banks and artillery cademates. Captain Joffre, future Marshal of the First World War, coordinated the …

… History and description Mont-Louis is one of the new towns, completely created by Vauban. Its creation dates from spring … of Puigcerdà. The war of Holland proved the need to ensure a defence of this sector. Vauban designed a town with …

… 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 …

… du Grand Donjon was constructed at the same time. This whole fortified development was redeveloped in the 14th century … port of the kingdom of France: city of Corsairs but also of commerce and negotiation. The outbreak of the war of the … parapet. The engineer Garangeau applied the construction on-site, while ensuring it was also continually adapted to the …

… Sélestat History and description A town of Carolingian origin, … and the arsenal de Saint-Hilaire (1518). The town housed a commandery of the Order of the Hospitaliers since the 13th … there. The engineer Jean Tarade designed the plans and ensured monitoring of the construction, which finished in …

… formed along the road to Saint James of Compostela. It received its first urban wall in the 14th century. A castle of the kings of Navarre was mentioned in 1189. This … between the families of Aragon and d’Albret, and then surrounded by the current rectangular citadel in 1624-1627, …

… History and description In the Alsace plain, on the left bank of the Rhine, where it meets the Ill and Bruche, … siege conducted by Louis XIV in person for Strasbourg to become French in 1681. After having captured the town, Vauban … the fortifications of Alsace, directed the construction on-site and applied the project of Vauban, which continued up …

… origin (Tullum), situated on a confluent of the Moselle and the Ingressin, Toul had its first fortifications … route which resisted multiple French or imperial sieges and survived up until 1689. This urban wall was partially … porte de France. However, the projects of Vauban remained incomplete. The decoration of the counterscarp only took place …

… the name Collis Martis (following the presence of a temple dedicated to March), Colmars (or Colmars-les-Alpes) was … work on the two gates. The remainder of the urban wall was completed by the barbicans and machicolations. In 1692, … delegated the architect Niquet and engineer Richerand on site. Niquet restored the medieval urban wall and added five …

… La Rade History and description The isle of Aix had its first modern defences installed in 1672. A … from the rest of the isle by a front with a tenaille, comprising two arrow-headed bastions and an inner fortified … projects set out by Vauban and Ferry. The interest in this site comes from the fact that it showcases the posterity of …

… description A town of medieval origins, the Old Town (Vieille Ville) of Nancy had its first city fortifications built … urban wall of 1550. Only the porte Saint-Nicolas allowed communication between the two towns. The town-planning of … place Carrière and place Neuve today retrace the site of the rampart, which used to separate the two towns. A …

… centuries. Abandoned under the Merovingians, and with at least one urban wall since the 12th century, it was besieged … and the New castle. In 1681, Vauban remodelled this ancient site by improving the above installations and designed … The works were conducted by the engineer Ferry and completed in 1685. During this construction work, the …

… 1164. The first modern constructions took shape under Charles Quint, who added four orillon bastions at the upper town … and constructed a barracks and a powder keg. In 1682, he recommended downgrading Bouchain, considering it of no use. … galleries, two rooms under the Timothée Trimm square, a site of the 19th century and the old moats of the …

… masonry urbanwall with twenty-eight towers. Having become a border town, Dunkirk kept its urban wall, said to be of Burgundy until 1640. Charles Quint later created an initial stronghold there in 1548. … by the engineers La-Motte-La-Mye and Chastillon. The enclosure was reconstructed and included ten bastions. The area …

… 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 …

… 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 …

… The fort de la Prée was built from 1625 by D’Argencourt and Le Camus, engineers under Louis XIII. It is a square fort … the engineer Blondel redesigned it, followed in 1672 by Clerville, then Le Favolière, and finally the engineer … curtain walls still stood, with a central courtyard surrounded by two barracks. Three other military buildings …

… Fort-les-Bains History and description Situated on a hill that … fort. The engineer Saint Hillaire designed the plans and ensured follow-up of the construction. This fort was … Vauban made some improvements but did not consider the complex to be a top priority. A project was set out in 1888 …

… was constructed in 1453, at the same time as the Hâ castle, under the reign of King Charles VII of France following … project. The construction of the second château Trompette commenced in 1664 and was finished eleven years later, … and architect Nicolas Payen was the person supervising on-site. In 1680, Vauban’s attention turned to the weaknesses …