“The festivities for the inauguration of the statue of Vauban in Avallon were a solemn occasion. The previous day’s rains had stopped, the morning clouds were moving off, and warm autumn sunbeams illuminated the scene, reddening the enchanted surrounding landscapes, when the features of the great man whose memory was being honoured appeared.

Starting on Saturday, the town was full of visitors braving the inclement weather. On Sunday, around noon, a convoy arrived from Auxerre that was big enough to form a crowd all by itself. It brought public officials, members of Parliament from the Yonne department, mayors, general councillors, and everyone who felt it was their duty to take part in this sort of departmental federation.

The population of Avallon came out to greet them, with an official welcome given by the head of the municipality, Mr Mathé, whose dignified, simple, modest attitude was so worthy of a magistrate of the Republic. At around two o’clock, a procession left the town hall for the sub-prefecture to gather the government representatives. The inauguration ceremony began with a speech by Mr Raudot, President of the commission for erecting the statue (...) But it was the role of the plebeian mayor of the town of Avallon to highlight what is perhaps the greatest glory of Vauban, and Mr Mathé did just that with a most elevated mindset. In the name of the people and as a man of the people, he returned to Vauban his purest and highest glory, that of having studied social evils, to have bemoaned them in his own grandeur and to have sought remedies for them. Mr Mathé’s speech was greeted with repeated, heartfelt cries of “Vive la République!”

“Les Fêtes d'Avallon”, text signed EM. G, taken from the L'Yonne newspaper dated 28 October 1873. In. Almanach Historique et Statistique de l'Yonne - 1874 edition.

On 14 July 1866, the Vauban monument committee met with Bartholdi in Avallon and immediately adopted the initial project for the memorial designed by the sculptor and presented as follows to the mayor of the town: “the architecture is in harmony with the man’s character. The lines of fortification called the Vauban front are used. The general layout fits in with the decoration of your promenade, with the slopes of the square, without disturbing the monument’s symmetrical aspect.” But this unanimity came up against criticism from the Council of Civilian Buildings for which Félix Duban served as one of the representatives: “the details with which the author seeks to express Vauban’s genius give off, if we may say so, something rather childish, forced. This should be banished from a monument erected in memory of a man such as Vauban. Strength and simplicity would seem necessary here to characterise the merits and qualities of the personality being presented.” In January 1867, he advised the elected officials of the municipality of Avallon “not to give their approval to the project submitted to them, to invite its author seek a simpler combination for the general layout and the location and, for the statue’s pedestal, shapes that are more sober and firm”.

Bartholdi gave in to the demands of this representative of the administration and in the end presented a statue full of commendable austerity, which was approved. It was cast by Barbedienne in 1872 and the monument was inaugurated, along with a section of railroad, on 26 October 1873.

The bronze statue was placed at the end of the Place d’Armes, which had become the Promenade des Terreaux in 1723. The Maréchal is still there today, with his left hand on his hip, the right holding a commander’s staff with one end resting on the attributes of the fortifications. The statue is three metres high and stands on a base of equal height in grey granite from Saint-Léger-Vauban, simply bearing the name of King Louis XIV’s famous Engineer.

Between the initial project presented in 1866 and the official inauguration in 1873, seven years had gone by. The disagreement with Félix Duban cannot alone explain this long delay; the Franco-Prussian conflict of 1870 changed the course of Bartholdi’s life. When the mayor of Avallon expressed is surprise at this delay, he gave this explanation: “After the war, weary with everything and finding my homeland Prussified, I decided to take a trip to the United States, where I had a longstanding invitation to come for art-related work...”.

Bartholdi nonetheless filled the order for the Burgundy town. He then took up another project, which was to be one of the most personal and most exciting of his life: the Lion of Belfort. On 5 December 1871, the city of Belfort announced a competition to erect a monument as “a testimonial in recognition of the victims of the siege of 1870-71” during which Denfert-Rochereau, atop the citadel designed by Vauban, valiantly distinguished himself.

Interestingly, for the record, Denfert-Rochereau was present at Avallon for the inauguration of the Maréchal’s statue, as reported in the l'Yonne newspaper of 28 October 1873: “The guest who was celebrated the most by all was Colonel Denfert, the heroic defender of Belfort, whose presence at this solemn occasion must have been saluted by the shadow of Vauban. The dead hero had been honoured; Denfert brought him back to life with a toast to the instruction of the people, who will produce the Vaubans of the future (...). The banquet ended with a speech by M. Lepère, whose role as President of the Departmental Council was to sum up all the fine words that had been pronounced, making a connection between Vauban’s work and the Revolution of 1789 in a summary of the mood of this lovely day.

Statue of the Maréchal de Vauban

Place Vauban Rue Mathe 89200 Avallon

Website of the Bartholdi Museum in Colmar

Bartholdi 2004

“Concerning my destination this winter, the King could not make me happier than by allowing me to spend two months’ time with my poor family, all the more so in that I have only been there twice in the past three years; and I had to leave a fortnight later, without ever having the time to do more than five sols worth of business. I beg you to be so kind as to arrange leave for me to do so, the season is not very welcoming for a visit to such a lowly land as my own, but I would much rather be there in the heart of the harshest of winters than not to go there at all.” Letter from Vauban to Louvois, from Mannheim, 6 November 1688. In. Anne Blanchard, Vauban, chap. XVIII: “Chez moi”, p. 458, Paris, Fayard, 1996.

Ten kilometres from Vézelay, on the site of the ancient Roman road running from Sens to Autun, stands the Château de Bazoches, the former family residence of the Maréchal de Vauban, now a private property classified as a historical monument in 1994 and open to the public since 1997.

Built in the 12^th century (around 1180) by Jean de Bazoches, the trapezoidal-shaped feudal castle comprises three round towers and a rectangular keep to which a larger tower with a wall-walk and machicolation was added in the 14^th century.

Successively owned by the Seigneurs of Bazoches, Chastellux, Montmorillon and La Perrière, Bazoches was acquired by Vauban in 1675 thanks to an 80,000-pound gratification granted to him by King Louis XIV following the victorious siege of Maastricht (1673). The château had formerly been the property of Jacques Ier Le Prestre, the Maréchal’s grandfather, following his second marriage to Françoise de la Perrière, the Count de Bazoches’ illegitimate daughter whom he had recognised. After a confusing succession, Vauban’s father, Albin or Urbain Le Prestre, son of this second marriage, went broke and had to abandon the château to live in Saint-Léger-Foucheret.

When he moved into the château, Vauban made many changes and transformed it into a military barracks. In the recently restored Grand Gallery, Vauban, the father of military engineering, carried out studies and drew up plans for over three hundred constructions and fortresses and developed methods for attacking and defending fortifications, making him the unquestioned master of siege strategy and military architecture.

With a little imagination, it is easy to picture the frenetic activity that went on in this part of the château, from where Vauban’s instructions were sent out after completing his studies. Dispatch riders were constantly ready to head out for every corner of the country with the Maréchal’s plans and orders in metal cylinders. This required building vast stables that could house some fifty horses. It was also here that he thought out and wrote the twelve illustrated volumes of what he called, not without humour, his “idlenesses”, his reflections on a multitude of subjects such as agriculture, forests, coinage, sciences, etc.

We should also mention his many studies on the fiscal, economic and political issues of the times. His writings on the region and the “geographical description of the Election of Vézelay” (1696) bring together a great deal of information on the population and resources of the 55 parishes in the area.

With 14 proposals aimed at reducing the problem of poverty in this region of the Kingdom, the description provides important testimony on the French population and the mentality of the nobility at the beginning of the 18^th century. It announces “the project for a Royal tithe” in which Vauban, observing the Kingdom’s extreme poverty and the inefficiency of the tax system of the day, proposes to raise a single tax and to unify the collection of the gabelle (salt tax). This novel text was published without legal authorisation in 1707, causing him to fall into semi-disgrace with the King.

The Maréchal actually spent very little time at Bazoches. He only came when he could take an exceptional leave of absence, notably in 1687, 1690, 1696, 1701 and 1704. He came to be with his wife and his two daughters, Jeanne, the younger, born on 28 October 1678, and Charlotte, the elder.

Vauban died at his family residence on 30 March 1707. He was buried on the following 16 April at the church in Bazoches, in Saint Sébastien chapel, which had been built upon his orders.

Today, the current owners, descendants of Charlotte de Vauban, carefully preserve many souvenirs of their illustrious ancestor among the rich furnishings, such as the Maréchal’s armour, considered a relic by Military Engineering Officers. Along with the 150-m² gallery which can now be booked to organise lunches or dinners, visitors can notably see Vauban’s antechamber and bedroom as well as his office, the yellow salon and the inner courtyard whose 17^th-century decorations were recently restored.

Château de Bazoches

58190 BAZOCHES

Tel.: +33 (0)3.86.22.10.22

Fax: +33 (0)3.86.22.12.37

E-mail: chateau.bazoches@wanadoo.fr

You can visit on your own (guided tours are available for groups, upon written request). The visit takes about 1½ hours. The text of the tour is available in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Japanese. The Château is fully furnished and heated

Opening hours and admission: see the Château de Bazoche website

Official website of the Château de Bazoches

Despite the many restoration projects, the former Château of the Counts Deux-Ponts was in ruins when Louis XIV took Bitche in 1680. Aware of the strategic importance of the rocky crag overlooking the city and the region, Louis XIV decided to have a first citadel built, entrusting the work to Vauban, who completed it in 1683.

The citadel was razed by French troops in 1697, when the Treaty of Ryswick handed Lorraine over to Leopold I, Duke of Lorraine. Louis XV took possession of Lorraine on 21 March 1737 and ordered the reconstruction of the citadel using plans by the engineer Cormontaigne based on Vauban’s construction. The end of the work was marked by the installation of a marble plaque above the main entrance that we can still see today: “Louis XV, Roy de France, auguste, victorieux et pacifique, en réédifiant cette forteresse de fond en comble, a voulu qu'elle fermât les Vosges et la Lorraine à ses ennemis, qu'elle défendit la frontière de l'Alsace et qu'au pied de ses murs les camps des armées françaises trouvassent une puissante protection. Année 1754” (Louis XV, King of France, august, victorious and pacific, by fully rebuilding this fortress, desired that it should close off the Vosges and Lorraine from their enemies, that is should defend the Alsace border and that at the foot of its walls the French army camps might find powerful protection. Year 1754). From 1846 to 1852, the citadel was reinforced with the construction of a fortified perimeter wall, defended to the north by Fort St Sébastien.


During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, German troops laid siege to Bitche and carried out deadly bombardments targeting first the citadel, and then the city. The Bitche garrison resisted gloriously for six long months before opening the doors of the fortress on 27 March 1871, not before receiving Battle Honours. Now German, the citadel was once again refurbished to house a garrison: the perimeter walls were destroyed, the chapel was used to house troops and two barracks were built. When Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France, the city received the Legion of Honour from the hands of President Poincaré in testimonial to the suffering endured during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.
During the Second World War, Bitche was the theatre of fighting starting in the winter of 1944, during which the population took refuge in the underground galleries of the citadel. Liberated by American troops, the city received the War Cross in 1949, and was commended in the Army Order.


The citadel still bears the scars of its close ties to the history of France. Some buildings of the bastioned central plateau central have miraculously escaped the many bombardments that have tried to conquer the legendarily invulnerable fortress. The chapel can still be admired – it is only vestige of the château built under Vauban – as well as the former bakery and the arsenal. Visitors to the site can notably admire the two bastions placed at the ends of the citadel, protecting the long south curtain wall, the “Grosse Tête” and “Petite Tête” walls, which defend the short curtain walls, and the wealth of the fortress’s underground network built by Louis XV’s engineers. A first museum is located on two levels in the chapel and presents a collection of weapons as well as a relief map of the citadel in the 18th century. In the former bakery, the second permanent exhibition houses a museographical area dedicated to Bitche during the Second Empire.

Visitors to the citadel can enjoy a unique feature: infrared transmitters placed along the itinerary provide commentaries in several languages through audio headphones, while olfactory effects give visitors a realistic perception of life at the citadel over the centuries.


Citadel of Bitche
Tel.: +33 (0)3 87 96 18 82
Fax: +33 (0)3 87 06 11 78

Opens the last Saturday of the month of March and closes the first Sunday of November. Every day from 10 am to 5 pm. Sundays, bank holidays and the months of July and August: 10 am – 6 pm.

Visits take 2 hours. Group visits by appointment

Access: From Strasbourg (65 km): Take the A4 motorway in the Strasbourg-Paris direction, and take the Haguenau Nord exit. Before reaching Haguenau, take the Sarreguemines exit and continue on toward Bitche. From Metz (110 km): Take the A4 motorway in the Paris-Strasbourg direction, take the Sarreguemines exit and continue on toward Bitche.

http://www.siegebitche.com

Website of the Pays de Bitche Tourism Office

Quizz : Forts and citadels

Twenty minutes by sea off the coast of Marseille, on the smallest island in the Frioul archipelago, not far from the islands of Pomègues and Ratonneau, the island of If displays its three hectares of limestone rock. Until the 16th Century, If was a wild islet, an occasional refuge for pirates and smugglers, or fishermen caught out by storms. In 1516, François 1st became aware of the place's strategic importance and decided to build a fortress there as an outpost of the town, designed to control entry into the Phocean port. Work began in 1524 and was completed in 1531. The fortifications consisted of ramparts erected on the white rocks, and a keep flanked by three round towers, linked by high walls and equipped to house a defensive system composed of heavy artillery.

The structure still retains the oppressive appearance of a feudal chateau of pre-bastion craftsmanship, but it is definitely a fortress, most notably because of its corner towers, which are more compact than medieval towers. Housing canons whose range was no more than 150 metres, the château d'If could not fulfil its defensive duty during the siege of Marseille in 1536 by Charles Quint's troops. Having never experienced war, the fortress was converted into a state prison at the end of the 17th century. From 1689 onwards, many protestants died within the damp walls of its terrible dungeons, whilst more favourable conditions of imprisonment were offered to eminent prisoners, wayward women or the bad boys of the family, such as the young Mirabeau.
The insurgents of 1848, the communards: the château d'If held political prisoners before losing its prison status in 1890, when it was opened to the public. Today, within the compound's walls, commemorative plaques still evoke the memory of the thousands of protestants and political internees of 1848. Contrary to the legend, the Iron Mask and the Marquis de Sade were never incarcerated at the château d'If. Between myth and reality, the château d'If also conjures up images of Alexandre Dumas' "Count of Monte-Cristo", although José Custodio Faria and Edmond Dantès probably never stayed there. During the First World War, Germans and then French draft dodgers were detained there. Classified as a historic monument in 1926, the château was taken over by German troops during the Second World War.
Château d'If Ports Iles du Frioul 13000 Marseille Crossings Embarkation: 1, quai de la Fraternité - Old Port - Marseille Tickets available on the day from the ticket office. Reservations for groups by fax on + 33 (0) 4.42.82.33.48. Opening times 1st May to 31st August, every day from 9 am to 6.30 pm 1st September to 31st March, every day except Monday from 9 am to 5.30 pm 1st to 30th April, every day from 9 am to 5.30 pm Last entry depends on the timetable of the boat Closed: 25th December and 1st January Full (adult) price: 5 € Reduced rate (18 to 25 years old): 3,50 € Group rate (from 20 adults): 4,20 € Free up to and including 17 years old Marseille Tourist Information Office Tel. +33 (0) 4 91 13 89 00 - fax +33 (0)4 91 13 89 20 E-mail: info@marseille-tourisme.com

The citadel of Besançon, Vauban's masterwork, was built between 1668 and 1711 and covers 11 hectares. It looks down from a height of more than 100 metres on the old town, which is nestled in a magnificent loop formed by a meander of the Doubs river. The citadel is a remarkably restored fortress, which is nowadays a unique place of great cultural and tourist importance that enables visitors to experience history and life.

The Resistance and Deportation Museum, which is housed in the enclosure of the citadel, takes the visitor on a voyage through history organised around 20 exhibition halls, half of which are dedicated to Nazism, Nazi repression and the concentration camps. It also contains a documentation centre and educational service. Finally, visitors can also see an exhibition of paintings by Jean DALIGAULT made on scraps of paper that were kept by surviving comrades. Jean DALIGAULT was deported to and executed in Dachau in March 1944. There is also an exhibition of rough sketches made while on the move by Léon DELARBRE, a member of the Resistance arrested in 1944 and deported to Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dora and Bergen-Belsen.

Tourist information: /33 (0)3 81 87 83 33

E-mail: :sem.lacitadelle@besancon.com 

Opening hours The citadel is open daily, except on 25 December and 1 January: 9:00 to 19:00 from July 5 -August 31 9:00 to 18:00 from 29 March to 4 July and 31 August 24 October 10:00 to 17:00 in low season.

Opening hours may be subject to slight amendments. Recommended duration of visit: At least half a day on site. Museums closed on Tuesdays between All Saints' Day and Easter.

Dogs are not permitted.

Admission Adults: 8.20 € Concession: 6.80 € Children (4 -14 years): 4.60 € Children (-4 years) Free. Group and regular visitor rates are also available.

The Resistance and Deportation Museum Free for school groups. Open all year round.

The Resistance and Deportation Museum La Citadelle 25000 BESANÇON - Telephone. /33 (0)3 81 83 37 14

The purpose was to strengthen fortifications south of the town and to make an impression on the working-class population of Saint-Sauveur who were becoming troublesome. It was used to store weapons and had a small garrison with a commanding officer, like at the Citadel.

Fort Saint-Sauveur was decommissioned in 1859. Because of this, only a few buildings and a classical-style chapel dating from 1707, built in white stone from Lezennes are all that remain. Only a few additional constructions have been added since 1947.

The Fort still accommodates military engineering services today.

Quizz : Forts and citadels

Located in the town of Mont-lès-Neufchâteau in the Ouest Vosgien, Bourlémont is a “stopping fort” in the Séré de Rivières system of fortifications that extended the fortified town of Toul.

Built from brick between 1878 and 1881, its purpose was to defend and keep watch over the rail and road hub of Neufchâteau and slow down the advancement of the enemy who would be forced to pass through the Trouée de Charmes or Charmes Gap. Considered as a second line outpost following the torpedo shell crisis, Fort Bourlémont was declassified in 1885.

The structure, called Fort Choiseul from 1887, has remained in its original architectural state, with the exception of a few modifications made by the Germans during the Second World War. It presents the military organisation of the 19th century with its vast barracks, powder stores and remarkable double caponier.

Its perfectly symmetrical footprint alone conveys the harmony and precision of construction from this period. Its style is just as aesthetic as strategic; its vaults, orillons and sheltered rooms are excellent architectural masterpieces.

In 1996, the town of Mont-lès-Neufchâteau bought the fort then entrusted its rescue and management to the AAFB (Friends of Fort Bourlémont Association) founded the following year. Today the association organises guided tours to show visitors how life was in the barracks between 1881 and 1914 (the garrison provided a roof for 700 men and 19 officers) and remind them of the tensions that reigned during that time between France and Germany.

For example, during the First World War, the structure received those wounded during the Battle of Verdun, Bourlémont being the only fortification to have been equipped, at the time of its construction, with a group of casemates intended to serve as an infirmary.

For young visitors, treasure hunts are organised during which they can discover the architecture of the fort and some military features including the optical telegraph which, using Morse code, provided a means of communication between the forts. The association regularly organises events.

Fort Bourlémont

Contacts: Asssociation des Amis du fort de Bourlémont (AAFB)

9 place de l'Eglise 88300 MONT LES NEUFCHATEAU +33 (0)3 29 94 35 69

email :aafb@ifrance.fr

Available on site: Picnic area, arboretum, car and coach parking, toilets including disabled facilities, snack bar with patio, gift shop.

Opening hours: Open from 2.30 to 5 pm (last tours). From 1 May to 30 June and 1 to 30 September: Sundays and public holidays. From 1 July to 31 August: every day except Monday. All year, by appointment only. Late night visits by appointment only from 1 to 22 August, Tuesdays and Fridays from 9.30 pm.

Admission: Individual adults: €4; teenagers (10-18 years): €1 ; Children under 10: free; Groups: €3

Site du fort de Bourlemont (88)

Following the defeat of 1870 and the annexation of Alsace-Moselle, the defence of the new eastern border was organised along fortification lines that formed defensive curtains, the product of the ideas of General Séré de Rivières. Two lines were built in the east: the defensive curtain of Hauts de Meuse (from Verdun to Toul) and Haute Moselle (from Epinal to Belfort). Two gaps designed to trap the enemy were also built between each line: Stenay (Meuse) and Charmes (Vosges). Apart from the advantage it had of providing geographic continuity with the curtain of Hauts de Meuse, Toul also served as an important crossing point on the main route between Paris and Strasbourg. The city also had an old fortified wall, which allowed it to quickly prepare for a defence of the city, and closed in the openings of the Haye forest and the Woëvre plain. Four forts were planned for construction in the short-term, marking out the four corners of the fortified twon of Toul : Ecrouves, Domgermain, St-Michel and Villey-Le-Sec. Villey-Le-Sec was charged with monitoring the openings of the Haye forest and was located on an elevated point 345m high on the right bank of the Moselle, alongside the ravine formed by this river as it runs through the Haye plateau.

By the time the planning of the fort began on 5 December 1873, the site had already presented major difficulties: the village occupied the site best-suited to the construction of the fort. Although it was suggested that the village be demolished, engineers decided to put the site to the best possible use in view of the urgent nature of the works: the demolition of the village would have also meant a delay in the construction of the fort and increased its cost. Nevertheless, work on the project began on 26 July 1875, even though the question of acquisitions had not been fully resolved. (The sites of the Nord and Sud batteries would not be acquired until October). What would follow was a long 4-year period of construction during which hundreds of workers would labour at a frantic pace. Given these lengthy horizons for completion and following an early crisis with our German neighbours, four redoubts were hastily built in Toul in late 1875 on points from which enemy artillery could bomb the heart of the town. In the sector of interest to us, the redoubts of Dommartin and Chaudeney (1km behind the fort of Villey-Le-Sec) were the state-of-the-art in military fortifications. The fort of Villey-Le-Sec was completed in 1879; only the Mougin turret, known as « G » and ordered on 14 August 1878 from the company Forges in Chatillon-Commentry was installed at a later date (1882). This turret required the construction of an inclined plane and railway track 203m long. The fort was now able to hold a garrison of 1301 men made up of 37 officers, 56 non-commissioned officers and 1208 soldiers, the manpower required to operate 36 ramparts, 8 mortars and 24 pieces of flanking artillery. Villey-le-sec was one of the more expensive forts in the fortification system. However, it was also an exceptional, unique complex; the inability to build the complex in the desired location meant that the whole village was fortified and protected by a surrounding wall and batteries. It is the only example of a village within a modern French fort.
Villey-Le-Sec is a surrounding fort made up of a Redan flanked by two batteries closed at the groove and two linking enclosures that have been hit by infantry fire. The complex is closed in by a square keep, a single-rampart stronghold. Built entirely of masonry covered in dirt, it was resistant to artillery used at the time. However, the useful life of the fort, as well as that of the Séré de Rivières system as a whole, suddenly came to an end in 1885 with the discovery of melignite and the development of new cylindrical-ogival shells capable of destroying forts made of stone. This was what would become known as the «torpedo shell» crisis. A series of experiments was thus carried out to strengthen the forts; the era of concrete and armour had just begun. In 1888, a directive would stipulate the first modifications to be made to the structures. As a result of these modifications, Villey-le-Sec was equipped with four barracks made of special concrete on 3 July 1890 : one in the keep, one in each battery and one in the redan. This cost 150,000 francs.
However, these first modifications were insufficient. At the instigation of the Haute Commission des Places Fortes (HCPL), created in 1899, a decision was made to embark on an ambitious programme to modernise the fort of Villey-Le-Sec, with work commencing on 11 July 1903. The former entrance of the keep was sealed and replaced with a new concrete barrack with an entrance at the end of the ditch. From winter 1905, other works, carried out by entrepreneur Benoît Estrade, would see the replacement of the caponniers of the keep with chests, the construction of concrete communication shafts and the building of armoured observation points. On February 7, delivery was taken of the redan's 75 turret (number 10). In 1907, the Nord battery took delivery of a 75 turret (number 13) and a machine-gun turret (number 25); the batteries and redan that flanked the ditches remained unchanged. Finally, from 1912, the fort would have an armoured battery for two 155 Court turrets. Although all of the substructures were completed, the turrets were never installed due to the declaration of war. The Sud battery was never modernised; it contains the features of the earliest forts. The fort of Villey-le-Sec is an exceptional complex not only due to its size, but also due to its originality in the sense that it surrounded a village. Owned by the council of the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, this site, which is maintained with great professionalism by the Association La Citadelle, could become an important tourist destination within the schema for the development of the Boucles de la Moselle. It is for this reason that the department recently launched a definition study, which will enable it to develop a plan to develop the fort of Villey-Le-Sec. Naturally, the project has the support of the ministry of defence.
Hours: Open Sundays and public holidays to 15h from 1 May to 30 September Every day to 15h from 14 July to 15 August, except Monday at 15h. Groups welcome all year round, subject to reservation. Admission : Adults : ?5 Ambassadors of Lorraine : ?4 Children under 16 : ?2.50 Groups (more than 25 persons) : ?4 Contact : Monsieur Régis BERGER, Chairman Association La Citadelle 2 place de l'Eglise 54840 Villey-le-Sec 03.83.63.90.09 email :fort@villey-le-sec.com

This 38 metre high islet with its natural beauty, battered by wind and tide, overlooks the entrance to the Brest Narrows. Protected by the sea but accessible at low tide, it has been used as a refuge since prehistoric times. Its position made it highly coveted, and the Dukes of Brittany set Le Perzel Château on it in the 5th century. However, its moment of glory came during the 17th century, when the King's engineer proposed that the island be fortified by building on the existing ruins. Vauban established a battery which was involved in driving back the English.

At the end of the 19th century, the islet was abandoned and a more powerful battery was created on land, behind it. The last time it was armed was by the Germans, who sited 75mm and 20mm canons on it, and hid machine guns around the fort. Under heavy bombardment, it surrendered to American troops in September 1944.

Bertheaume lay abandoned for 45 years until it was reborn out of its turbulent history in 1992. After Herculean restoration work (when workmen physically carried materials to the site) it was opened to the public once again.

Today, the accurately restored site invites you to discover its past through numerous exhibitions and events.

Bertheaume Fort

Tel: +33.(0)2.98.48.26.41

Group visits can be arranged on request. Evening visit entitled "Tales of Bertheaume": every Wednesday in summer

Open April to November: 5 April to 4 May 2pm to 6.30pm every day. 5 May to 27 June and 6 to 28 September, 2pm to 6.30pm Tuesday to Sunday. 28 June to 31 August: 10am to 7pm.
October: 2pm to 6pm on Wednesdays and Sundays, 25 October to 2 November 2pm to 6.30pm every day. Open 2pm to 6pm on 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11 November.

Ticket office closes 1 hour before the site.
 

Entrance: Adults: €3.80 Preferential rate: €2.90 Reduced tariff (young people aged 12-18, students and job seekers): €2.10 Children aged 6-11: €0.80
 

Plougonvelin village official website

Ancient Genoese fortified town constructed in the 13th century in the south of Corsica, the citadel of Calvi is made up of a series of walls crisscrossed by narrow streets perched on the top of a chalky headland. Inside this very ancient citadel (also known as 'Ville-Haute') are several public and religious edifices: the former palace of the governor, the primatial church, the law court, the town hall and the college. At the entrance to the citadel visitors can read an inscription engraved by the Genoese: Civitas Calvi semper fidelis ('The city of Calvi, forever faithful').