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 ...

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

Nicknamed the Belle Inutile (the useless beautiful), the citadel is a Vauban structure built between 1668 and 1672. Pentagonal in shape, it is flanked on each corner by huge bastions protected by free-standing fortifications, part of which is preserved. The white stone Porte Royale faces the town and emphasises the power of the new sovereign. The buildings necessary for life in the Citadel surround the esplanade. Aligned with the Porte Royale, the arsenal, whose openings are emphasised by the stone décor, has a privileged place in the fort's spatial organisation The chapel, a gem of Baroque architecture, still has a brick façade richly decorated with fluted engaged columns, medallions, flame ornaments, etc.

The Chemin des Douves path takes visitors on a trail around the Citadel, to the Crinchon, a stream that was used to fill the ditches with water. The citadel itself is owned by the French Army. It can be visited as part of a tour organised by the Tourist Information Office in the Town Hall. Despite the modifications over the centuries, the Arras citadel is still testimony to Vauban's art.

There is a memorial in the Faubourg d'Amiens cemetery, not far from the citadel. It commemorates the deaths of 35,000 men – British, New Zealand and South African – who fell between spring 1916 and 7 August 1918 and who do not have their own tomb. The names of the dead are engraved on stone slabs affixed to the walls of the cloister with Doric columns, built by Sir Edwin Luytens. Faubourg d'Amiens cemetery on Boulevard du Général de Gaulle also has 2,652 identified tombs.

Opposite the Memorial, on the wall of the cloister is the "Flying Services Memorial", engraved with the names of the Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Air Force and the Australian Flying Corps.

Part of the Arras Memorial, erected in the Faubourg d'Amiens cemetery, is considered a homage to the first aviators who lost their lives in combat. The Aviators' Memorial is noticeable as soon as you enter the cemetery; it consists of a raised base surmounted with a globe.
The names of all the airmen who fell on the Western front and whose tombs are unknown are engraved on each side. These include the names of 46 Canadians. The Canadians were particularly distinguished in the air war. Twenty-five thousand of them served as pilots, lookouts, and mechanics in the British Forces. Canadian airmen received over eight hundred decorations and citations, including three Victoria Crosses, for their bravery. Out of the "aces" of the RAF, five were Canadian. Pilots like W.A. "Billy" Bishop, W.G. Barker, Raymond Collishaw and A.A. McLeod were famous for their boldness and their feats.

The New Zealand tunnels form a complex system of underground shafts and caves which extend from Arras to Bapaume and Cambrai. In 1916 and 1917, the New Zealand company of tunnellers extended an existing network of old caves with shafts to reach No Man's Land, under the German trenches. The site was rediscovered in 1996.

Website of the regional tourist board for the Nord

Quizz : Forts and citadels

Overlooking the confluence of the rivers Marque and Deûle, on the N17 road connecting Lille and Menin, Fort Lobau was erected in the 1880s, becoming part of the defence system designed by Séré de Rivières in the Lille region.

It has ramparts with a perimeter of 720 metres, protected by a wide ditch. It was impressive. It could accommodate 800 men and 40 pieces of artillery. However, although it had an armoured dome, it was not sufficient to provide shelter from new forms of explosives. Another weakness was linked to the fact that it could be opposed from the high ground of Mouvaux.

The peculiarity of the site is that it wasn't really used by French soldiers, but by German soldiers. It was actually occupied during the two wars in the 20th century. In the second world war it was linked to an airfield as of July 1940 and was used to store bombs for German aircraft.

But it was much more than this: from 17 March 1943 to 1 May 1944, it was a site of execution for the 68 members of the French Resistance in the region. Before they left on 1 September 1944, the Germans bombed the entire site. All that was left was a third of its original structure.

It was rediscovered by accident, and the Fort's casemates were renovated, following the original plans. The Sacred Courtyard, where executions had taken place, was inaugurated in 1986. The Fort is an interesting example of military architecture from the end of the 19th century (restored casemates, different courtyards: battery courtyard, courtyard of honour and Sacred courtyard).

The Fort houses the Musée de la Résistance, inaugurated on 20 September 1997.
The museum retraces the activities of the French Resistance in the region of Nord - Pas de Calais during the Second World War. Organised by theme, an educational trail explains the backgrounds of the men and women who belonged to the "shadow army", with collections of objects and documents from the time.

The museum has different rooms, organised by theme: the Memory room recalls the sacrifice made by the members of the Resistance killed at the Fort; the Refusal room explains the reasons for wanting to fight the occupier; the Courage room illustrates the different forms of resistance, from collecting information to carrying out spectacular actions; the Enrolment room describes the paths of the Resistance members and the different organisations (networks and movements) to help understand their reasons for joining; lastly, the Sacrifice room exposes the repression and the conditions of detention experienced by the arrested members.

The Museum also has an area dedicated to the Voix du Nord newspaper showing 66 clandestine copies of Voix du Nord, from 1 April 1941 to 5 September 1944, and a library open to students who want to do some research. The Museum also has a conference room and a dining area.

Musée de la Résistance de Bondues

BP80001 59587 BONDUES Cedex

Tel.: +33 (0)3 20 28 88 32

Fax: +33 (0)3 20 28 94 95

E-mail: hpriego@mairie-bondues.fr

Opening times Summer : Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 2 pm to 4.30 pm Other periods: open every day subject to booking, from 9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm. Open on the first Sunday of the month (except in August) from 2.30 pm to 6 pm - guided tours at 3.30 pm. Closed on Tuesday, the weekend and national holidays. Guided tours can be organised on request outside the usual opening times.

Prices Individuals: €5.00. Children under 12 accompanied by an adult: free. Groups (from 10 people): €4.50 per person. School groups (30 pupils maximum): €25.00 per class

Mairie de Bondues

BP 1 59587 BONDUES Cedex

Correspondance ASSOCIATION "UNION RESISTANCE VOIX DU NORD"

Espace Résistance Voix du Nord 200, rue de la Coeuillerie 59840 PREMESQUES

Tel.: +33 3.20.22.20.56

Website of the Tourist Information Office of Lille

Website of the departmental tourist board for the Nord

Website of the town of Bondues

Website of the regional tourist board for the Nord

Quizz : Forts and citadels

Known as the queen of citadels, the citadel of Lille was the first great personal creation of Vauban. Started in 1670, it is in the shape of a regular pentagon, reinforced with powerful interior bastions, from which the buildings are positioned according to a radial layout with a large central courtyard. A much cherished part of Vauban's court, this showcase fortification can be visited by contacting the Tourist Information Office. Of special interest are the Royal Gate and the Arsenal.

On leaving the citadel and going straight ahead in an easterly direction, via the Boulevards following the old fortifications destroyed during the Second Empire, not to be missed are the relief maps of the 17th century towns, including that of Lille, at the palais des Beaux-Arts and, further on, what remains of Fort Saint-Sauveur in the square du Réduit, not far from the Porte de Paris built by a man from Lille, Simon VOLLANT, a partner of Vauban, as a tribute to Louis XIV. Close by, the remains of the Noble Tower, erected by the Duke of Burgundy, Philippe le Hardi. Around Lille, the forts of Bondues to the north and Seclin to the south are good examples of so-called Séré de Rivières fortifications.

This historic monument, now owned by the Ministry of Defence, belongs to a Culture and Defence protocol, signed on 17 September 2005. Click here to see the list of other buildings...
Office du Tourisme de Lille Tel: +33 (0) 320 30 81 00

Saint-Pol-sur-Mer is a former commune with a population of 24,000 and is the site of a number of military remains. These include: The remains of the Jean Bart lock, which can be seen in the Jacobsen park. The lock was built in 1715 at the mouth of the Mardyck canal (now a freeway) to compensate for the destruction imposed by the Peace of Utrecht. It was considered the finest in Europe at the time. In 1717, following the Treaty of the Hague, the decision was made to demolish the lock and Russian Tsar Peter the Great physically came to the site to ensure the plan was followed through. In honour of the First World War (1914-1918), a plaque was erected in memory of aviator Georges Guynemer who spent his last night at 192 rue de la République before his fatal flight in September 1917 over Poelkapelle, while his squadron had been stationed on the ground in St Pol since July of that year.

A remnant from the Second World War, an armoured chamber with its anti-aircraft bunker at the site of the oil company Dépôts de Pétrole Côtiers on Avenue Maurice Berteaux.

Site du comité régional du tourisme de la région Nord

Website of the regional tourism board for the Nord

On the way between the Slack estuary and the village, visitors to this seaside resort will undoubtedly stumble across Fort Mahon, standing alone on a rocky outcrop. IT was designed by Vauban. Built between 1684 and 1690, probably on the site of the English battery of 1544, it consists of a tower accommodating a large ring-shaped casemate reinforced with a fausse-braye. The battery, flanked with two guardrooms and topped with an officer's pavilion, could contain 20 canons. The fort, which has a traditional appearance with its crenelated ramparts, has three floors of artillery. It was restored by Napoleon, and the battery was transformed during the German occupation.

Today, the fort houses an exhibition on the geographical history of the coastline.

Fort Mahon

Open on Saturday and Sunday from 3 pm to 6.30 pm in July and August and on Sunday from 3 pm to 6.30 pm in September and October. Group visits by appointment on +33 3.20.54.61.54

The Musée Historique 1939-1945 in Ambleteuse presents the noteworthy events of the second world war, from the campaign of Poland in 1939 to the capitulation of Japan on 2 September 1945, with explanations, maps, objects, uniforms and weapons, all of which are authentic and relative to this period of history. This museum is unique in France and complements the other establishments in the region. Most museums and sites in France only cover a precise period of the Second World War. Reports from the time and a film on the battle of Normandy are projected in a room which imitates 1940s' décor.

It took over thirty years of research all over the world to bring together the rich collections presented here. Of particular interest are the reconstitution of a street in Paris under the occupation and rare objects such as one of only two German regimental flags known in France.

Musée Historique 1939-1945

CD 940 62164 Ambleteuse

Tel.: +33 3.21.87.33.01

Fax: +33 3.87.35.01

Email: musee.39-45@wanadoo.fr

Open every day from 1 April to 15 October. Outside this period, open at weekends and national holidays. Closed in December, January and February.

Prices Adults: €6.90. Children (7-16 years): €5.00. Reduced price (war veterans, soldiers and students): €6.00. For groups, enquire at the museum.

Website of the regional tourist board for the Nord

Official website of the Musée Historique 3945

Quizz : Forts and citadels