Entrevaux

History and description

A site occupied since the time of the Celts, the town of Entrevaux only emerged under the Merovingians on the right bank of the Var. In the 10th century, the need to defend the town sparked its relocation to a site along the left bank and installation at the present-day spur. The town developed progressively and gained the status of a royal city under Francis I in 1542. This nomination was motivated by the services rendered by its residents to the Kingdom of France during the wars against Charles Quint, sovereign of Italy. The medieval fortifications and the castle built on top of the spur were also reinforced at this time. However, the first modern constructions would only get underway under Louis XIII. Richelieu had the urban wall reinforced and replaced the castle with the current citadel in 1624.
In 1690, the war of the League of Augsburg and the Savoy threat prompted Vauban to reinforce the defences of Entrevaux. The engineer Antoine Niquet, head of the fortifications of Provence, was delegated to work on-site. The following year, Niquet acted to implement the projects of Vauban. He started by reinforcing the three gates of the town by the addition of drawbridges and towers to duplicate the ramparts at their levels. Subsequently, he constructed a hornwork in front of the porte d’Italie, which was the most vulnerable, and bastioned semi-circular towers without arches. Finally, he linked the citadel to the town by the construction of a road protected by walls and equipped with turrets. In 1692, Vauban constructed two additional towers on the urban wall: these two tours were vaulted, housed two or three floors, and were equipped to handle artillery.
In 1708-1709, the engineer of Langrune constructed two small forts, the fort Pandol and the fort Langrune, at the start of the protected road towards the fortress in order to reinforce the protection of the side of the town.