While the citadel in Bastia evokes the long domination of the island by the Genoese, the citadel of Bonifacio can lay claim to being the first fortified town in Corsica. In the name of the Pope, Lord Boniface ordered the building of a fortress in 830 to which he then gave his name. It was later modified and enlarged to keep up with military technical advances. Situated to the west of the town high on a narrow plateau, the citadel was built to protect the southern coast from the incursions of the Saracens.

Bastia was founded in the 14th century and was the capital of Corsica throughout the period of Genoese domination until 1768. On the high ground overlooking the entry to the small port of Marina di Cardo, the Genoese governor of the island, Leonello Lomellino, ordered the building of a fortress, or 'bastiglia' in Corsican, which became his residency, and was later occupied by his successors. The district of Terra-Nuova grew up around this citadel. The ramparts were added between 1480 and 1521. However the present appearance of the citadel and the other constructions forming the defences of Bastia date back to the time of Louis XV.

Fermont Fort, located 5km east of Longuyon in the north of the Meurthe et Moselle, an area popular with tourists known as the "triangle of fire", ranks with Simershof and Hackenberg among the largest Maginot line fortifications to be open to the public.

This large fortification, built between May 1931 and February 1936 is part of La Crusnes fortified area. It is made up of seven combat blocks and two entrance blocks (for men and ammunition) linked by a network of over two kilometres of underground passageways.

In June 1940, under the command of Captain Aubert, the fort valiantly resisted several attacks by the Germans. On 17 June combat block no. 4 was attacked unsuccessfully. Another assault four days later against the entire fortification resulted in the loss of 80 soldiers (killed or wounded) on the German side and just one fatality and one serious injury on the French side. Although undefeated, the soldiers of Fermont Fort crew were obliged by orders from French command to surrender on 27 June 1940.

At the entrance to the fortification, a memorial in memory of the troops "delivered unbeaten to the enemy" is a just reminder that the majority of the fortifications on the Maginot line were still standing firm in the face of the enemy when the Armistice took effect on 25 June 1940.

The French Ministry of Defence, which owns the 27-hectare site, passed its upkeep, management and promotion to the Friends of Fort Fermont Fortification and the Maginot Line Association (AAOFLM) in 1975.

The site, which has been open to the public since 12 June 1977, is visited by an average of 20,000 people each year. The two-hour trip begins in front of the munitions entrance. Visitors enters a goods lift to travel 30 metres underground to the heart of the fortification, and are then directed towards the munitions magazine (M1), within which a museum depicting the daily life of the crew of the fort has been created. They then travel on a small train - an authentic shunter - to combat block no. 4. From outside the fortification, on the top of the structure, visitors can admire an impressive artillery bunker with 3 crenels measuring 75mm. A few hundred meters beyond lies no. 1 block with its 75mm turret.

After walking outside, visitors return inside the fortification. They board another small train to the barracks and electricity plant with its four 225 horsepower diesel generators, designed for use should the external electricity supply have been cut off. The conclusion to the visit is the exterior museum featuring a large number of artillery exhibits, including three turrets recovered from Brehain fortification (around 12km south-east of Longwy, on the plateau which faces Luxembourg).

During the summer, the association organises a number of events in addition to these visits. In August 2003 the Fermont Fortification was transformed into a giant exhibition venue for the work of contemporary artists from the region. It was also completely metamorphosed in March 2003 when a part of Olivier Dahan's film "Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse" was filmed there with Christopher Lee, Jean Réno and Benoît Magimet. The Meurthe et Moselle Departmental Council was conscious of the need to preserve the fortification without damaging it. It commissioned a study into realising the potential of Fermont Fort from a specialised consultancy, which resulted in a credible, sustainable plan for the promotion of the site as a tourist attraction.

Fremont Fort

Contacts: Friends of Fort Fermont fortification and the Maginot Line association

9, rue Albert Lebrun 54260 LONGUYON

Tel: +33 (0)3 82 39 35 34

Fax: +33 (0)3 82 39 26 46

email :ligne.maginot.fort.de.fermont@wanadoo.fr

Administration office staffed: Monday - Wednesday 2pm to 6pm and Friday 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm.

Please wear warm clothing and suitable shoes.

Allow two hours for your visit.

Opening hours and tours:

1 - 30 April Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays 2pm to 3.30pm

1 May to 30 June one single visit Monday to Friday at 3pm, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays 2pm to 3.30pm

1 July to 31 August every day from 2pm to 4.30pm

1 September to 3rd weekend in the month open every day, visits at 2pm and 3.30pm

3rd weekend in September to 31 October Saturdays and Sundays, visits at 2.30pm and 4pm

Open every day all year round for groups, by appointment with the administration office.

Entrance: Adults: €8, Children aged 7-12: €5 Group: €6 (30 people minimum)

Official Fermont Fort website

Fortweb website on European fortifications

Avec ses 19 blocs de combat et ses 10 km de galeries, l’ouvrage du Hackenberg est le géant de la Ligne Maginot.

Sa construction débuta dès 1930 parmi les tout premiers. Il fut en fait le prototype des ouvrages d'artillerie de la ligne Maginot. 1800 ouvriers environ travaillèrent avec des moyens relativement rudimentaires pendant six années pour construire les 19 blocs de combat et percer environ 10 kilomètres de galeries. Après 1933 et l'achèvement du gros oeuvre, on installa l'équipement intérieur et l'armée française prit livraison de l'ensemble en 1936.

Après la déclaration de guerre en 1939 et la période de vigilance maximale de la 'Drôle de guerre', le Hackenberg remplit son rôle lors de l'offensive allemande de 1940 et sa reddition ne fut effective que quelques jours après l'armistice. En novembre 1944, il fut investi par la 3e armée américaine du général PATTON lors de la terrible bataille pour la libération de la Moselle.

Sous la conduite d’un guide de l’association AMIFORT, le public y découvre des installations d’origine en parfait état de fonctionnement, une usine électrique et des groupes électrogènes en état de marche, des salles reconstituées à l’identique et un musée militaire.

La visite se poursuit à bord du petit train d’époque qui transporte les visiteurs vers les blocs de combat, dont l’imposant bloc 9 où l’on peut assister à la démonstration du fonctionnement de sa tourelle d’artillerie de 163 tonnes.

Après une sortie en surface, les visiteurs découvrent le bloc 8 qui porte encore les stigmates des combats de 1944 entre les troupes allemandes et américaines.

C'est un voyage dans le temps et dans l'Histoire d’une formidable fortification du XXème siècle que les bénévoles et salariés de l'association AMIFORT vous proposent.

L’ouvrage du Hackenberg est l’un des très rares ouvrages militaires possédant un circuit pédestre balisé par le Club Vosgien qui vous permet d'admirer les dessus de ces 19 blocs de combat en transitant par le Mur Antichar de 800 mètres de long et 8 mètres de haut, une curiosité unique en Lorraine.

La visite du fort dure environ deux heures et se déroule dans un environnement souterrain où la température est stabilisée à 12° toute l'année. Pour votre confort prévoir des vêtements en conséquence.

Compte tenu des contraintes liées à la visite d'un ouvrage souterrain ancien à plusieurs niveaux, seule la découverte de quatre-vingt pourcents du parcours est assurée pour les personnes à mobilité réduite. Les poussettes sont acceptées.

Une boutique souvenir vous est proposée à la fin de la visite.

Sources : ©GROS OUVRAGE MAGINOT DU HACKENBERG - PHOTOS libre de droit Crédit photo association AMIFORT

This castle was built in the 13th century on a rocky headland by the famous Breton Goyon-Matignon family.

Two drawbridges cross the crevasses that separate the castle from the mainland. Due to its strategic position, over the years the castle has seen many interesting times. Du Guesclin laid siege to it in 1379. During the troubles associated with the Catholic League the buildings were largely destroyed by fire, with only the keep resisting the attacks. It was a very badly damaged castle that attracted the interest of Louis XIV. Garangeau was charged with converting it into a coastal defence stronghold (between 1690 and 1715), thus ensuring its survival. The old feudal castle underwent many changes, the chapel was rebuilt in the early 18th century and the furnace for heating canon balls dates from 1793. During the 19th century, Fort La Latte was gradually abandoned until it was staffed by a single guard. It was decommissioned in 1890 and sold two years later. In 1931, it was classified as a historical monument and restored.
Access By road: From Rennes - N12 E50 Lamballe - Follow Cap Fréhel on the D768, D13 and D34 Train: Lamballe (30 Km) Air: Dinard-Pleurtuit (30 Km) Tours The castle is open every day: - 11 April to 30 September from 10am to 12.30pm and from 14h30 to 18h - October 1 to April 10 during school holidays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 14h30 to 18h The castle is closed the rest of the time Contacts Tel.: +33 2 96 41 40 31 email :Flalatte@aol.com

Fort Penthièvre is located at the base of the Quiberon peninsula. It was once called the Palice headland and was responsible for controlling access to the peninsula. Most importantly, it overlooks the 15 km or so of the Penthièvre beach, which is suitable for landing. Several forces had indeed landed there over the centuries: the Dutch in 1674 and the English in 1746. It was the pillaging of the peninsula by the latter which raised awareness of the vulnerability of its defences. In 1747 the construction of a fort was approved. This was to take the form of an enormous bastion built on a rocky promontory, blocking the only access to the peninsula. At this point, the lagoon bar was only a few dozen metres wide. During the Revolution, Fort Penthièvre would become a battleground of violent confrontations: 6,500 royalists, landed from the English fleet, seized it in an attack on 27 June 1795. It was recaptured by General Hoche's troops on 20 July. Left more or less abandoned, Fort Penthièvre was modernised and reinforced from 1800 onwards, under the impetus of the engineer General Marescot and on the orders of Bonaparte. In 1917 the fort was used as a prison for German soldiers. They carried out resurfacing work on the road. In 1933, it was entrusted to the navy and then fell into disuse. During the Second World War, it was occupied by the Germans and incorporated into the Atlantic wall. It housed various blockhouses, but was mainly used by the infantry. In July 1944, some resistance fighters were tortured and buried alive there. A pillar mounted on a Cross of Lorraine stands there in memory of them. Nowadays, Fort Penthièvre is a training base for the land army.

This historic monument, property of the Ministry of Defence, was included in a Culture and Defence protocol signed on 17 September 2005. Click here to see the list of other buildings ...

In the forest of Saint-Michel-en-Thiérache, near Hirson, there is a line of blockhouses built starting in 1936 and which were not part of the Maginot Line. Along the Belgian border, they form the connection between the fortifications of Maubeuge and those of the Ardennes. At first, only block shelters were built.

In 1940, although not yet completed, they provided support for two lines of combat positions: the front line – Ligne Principale de Résistance (LPR – Main Line of Resistance), and the rear line – Ligne d'Arrêt (LA – Stop Line), where the reserves in charge of the counterattack were located.

An anti-tank ditch and a network of anti-personnel barbed wire rounded out this double line.
The LPR and the LA contained imposing blockhouses equipped with cannons and machine guns.

On 18 May 1940, the Germans slipped between these two lines and took control of these positions.

A marked forest path is being set up. Furthermore, there is currently a project for a monument commemorating the fighting. Once the project is completed, some sites will accessible by car and hikers will be able to enjoy marked trails with explanatory signs for understanding the sites.

Only some 350 m of the medieval walls on either side of the Vautourneux Gate remain, comprising earthen ramparts doubled with a ring of towers and curtain walls that protected Condé until the middle of the 17th century. On one side, at the two ends of the earthen rampart wall, Archers Tower and Plovière Tower overlook the Nervien ditches. On the other side, the less impressive wall was defended by the Capucins Tower, rebuilt in 1623 and equipped with cannon firing ports strangely placed at ground level. Further on, the Touquet bartizan is set in an inside corner. We should also mention the so-called "Arsenal" fort and the Hotel de Bailleul, dating from the 15th century, with 4 turrets.

La fortification bastionnée remonte à l'époque des Pays-Bas, des conquêtes espagnoles et la décision prise en 1654 d'ériger la cite en place forte pour faire face à Louis XIV. Les Espagnols commencent à établir une fortification bastionnée au nord puis au sud et au sud-est. En 1674, les travaux étaient terminés, bastions, courtines, fossés et glacis, tout cela en terre, il est vrai mais en 1676 les quatre principaux bastions étaient muraillés.

Après la prise de Condé par Louis XIV en 1676, des améliorations sont apportées par Vauban : construction de contre gardes, renforcement de la redoute du Jard mais surtout il s'employa à murailler ce qui ne l'était pas encore. Le canal du Jard servait en partie de fossé de fortifications, en partie de canal d'inondation.

The bastioned fortification dates from the Netherlands period, the Spanish conquests and the decision taken in 1654 to make the city a stronghold against Louis XIV. The Spaniards began with a bastioned fortification to the north, and then to the south and southeast. The work was completed in 1674, with bastions, curtain walls, moats and glacis, all in earthenwork, but in 1676 the four main bastions were walled off.

Vauban made improvements after Condé was taken by Louis XIV in 1676, building counterguards, reinforcing the Jard redoubt, but he especially worked to build walls in areas that had not yet been walled off. The Jard Canal was partially used as a fortification moat and partially as a flood canal.

Today there remain eleven hectares (27.5 acres) of fortifications including the Jard, Solre, la Teste (or Royal) and Tournai bastions with ravelins and counterguards. Under the glacis of the Tournai ravelin there are countermines dug by the Austrians in 1794. The stronghold was decommissioned in 1901 and dismantled in 1913. Walking paths have been laid out to visit the ramparts and the Tourism Office organises guided tours. The city is a member of the association for fortified cities of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region.


Valenciennois Tourism Office

"Le Beffroi" 26, place Pierre Delcourt 59163 Condé sur l'Escaut

Tél : 03 27 28 89 10

Fax : 03 27 28 89 11

Courriel : otduvalenciennois@wanadoo.fr

Quizz : Forts and citadels

Clearly visible from Place des Centenaires, the ramparts of Maubeuge, which date to Vauban's time, are an ideal site to visit. Only one gateway remains, the Mons, but its drawbridge and pediment have many interesting features. Nearby is the guardroom, which is similar to those on some of Vauban's other ramparts and structures.

Website of the regional tourist board for the Nord

Quizz : Forts and citadels

The city of Cambrai held the position of border city between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire from the Carolingian period. Very early on it therefore had to build a ring of fortifications that were expanded and developed over the centuries with the evolutions in siegecraft. The decision to dismantle the fortifications was taken at the end of the19th century. Nonetheless, the city has kept some remarkable remnants of its fortified past. Of the medieval fortifications, several towers remain, along with the gates of the Front Sud, from the end of the 19th century: Arquets Tower, which is the water gate letting the Escaut flow into the city, Caudron Tower, equipped with a turret made of Bouchain sandstone since the 19th century, Saint Fiacre Tower located along the former curtain wall, and the Paris Gate, which has preserved some traces of the defence system.

In 1543, Emperor Charles V tore down a major abbey in Cambrai, Saint-Géry au Mont des Boeufs, to build a citadel using the new principles of bastioned military architecture. Although it was dismantled at the end of the 19th century, this citadel, a unique example of the fortresses built by Charles V, still has its countermine galleries for the surveillance of the ditches, the Royal Gate with rustic bossage decorated with a lion and an arsenal dating from the 16th century.
Among later installations, the officers’ lodgings from the 18th century have been preserved, explosive magazines and barracks that were able to withstand the bombs of the 19th century. Notre Dame Gate, built in 1632 at the north entrance to the city, is remarkable in its decoration.


Paris Gate, the former Saint Sépulcre Gate

A testimonial to the ramparts built at the end of the14th century, this was the only way to reach the south of the city until the fortifications were dismantled starting in 1892. This strategic position had to be invulnerable in case of a siege. The arrowslits on the towers, the drawbridge, the portcullis, the murder-holes in the vault and the large upstairs guard room ensured the Gate’s defence when attacked.

Cambrésis Tourism Office

Maison Espagnole

48, rue de Noyon

59400 CAMBRAI

Tél : 03.27.78.36.15 Fax : 03.27.74.82.82

E-mail : contact@tourisme-cambresis.fr

Quiz: Forts and citadels