Marshal Vauban Website| Fortress Links - Europe |
Museum of Plans & Reliefs - the official web site of one of the most interesting museums in Paris. In the days before map contours were invented, Louis XIV had massive detailed scale models built of his Royal fortresses [Vauban's works were well represented]. Such plans-reliefs as are still in existence today - they were formerly TOP-SECRET items - are now beautifully displayed in the Museum which is housed in an upstairs part of the famous Hotel des Invalides.
The Town of Colmars
lies in the French Alps & was fortified by Vauban. The web site - part of the
Beyond The French Riviera web - features
splendid photos of the defenses. There is relatively simple loopholed cordon wall around
the town, with a free-standing wall before the main gates. However, there are also
two detached forts, one of which [seen left], is impressive. I hope to be able to
feature an article on Colmars in the months to come.
De La Fortification - an excellent [French Language] site devoted to the history of fortification; and which has a particular leaning towards Vauban & his successors such as Montalembert. The illustrations on this site are well worth looking at.
Neuf Brisach - a German language site which features some photographs of Neuf [New] Brisach, the most quintessential of all Vauban's fortresses. Neuf Brisach was built from scratch a short distance from the river Rhine. It's construction was prompted by the Treaty of Ryswick [1697] which had required France to relinquish possession of [Old] Brisach am Rhein, a city opposite Neuf Brisach on the German side of the river & sometimes referred to as "The Key to the Rhine". Both the fortress of Neuf Brisach and the town Vauban had built within it's walls are symetrical in shape. Accordingly, the fortress represents the purest form of Vauban's so-called third system of defense works.
Please note the site this link takes you to is predominantly concerned with Witchcraft - the practise of which [excuse the pun] I do not condone.
However, the link does serve to illustrate
the recent interest in artillery fortifications on the part
of those involved with the occult. For myself I firmly believe there is nothing
whatsoever to link the shape of artillery defences and the employment of
pentangles etc in Witchcraft - what those interested in the occult seem to think.
Fortresses took their shape for two reasons only : 1.
to provide an all round view of the foot of the walls, i.e. eliminating
dead ground, and 2. to create killing grounds
around the foot of the fortress walls enabling the defenders to maximise
the potential for a protracted defence. Please don't allow
anyone to convince you otherwise!
Rocroi - a
site devoted to the exceedingly interesting fortress town of Rocroi.
Here you will find information on the fortress, the town, and the very important
17th century battle [19th May 1643] in which the French, under the Duc d'Enghien
[the future Prince of Conde], crushed an invading Spanish army. The site is worth
visiting for the splendid images alone.
The Defences of Finistere - a section of an extensive web site maintained by the Department of Brittany. It features many pages of text & photos devoted to the defenses in & around Brest - for centuries one of the main bases of the French Navy. Many works by Vauban, and some completed later in accordance with his projects, are represented here.
The City and Fortress of Namur - In the first of two famous sieges late in the 17th century Namur was captured by Vauban, who took it from his great rival the Dutchman Menno van Coehoorn. After Vauban had re-worked the fortifications the place was later re-captured, in Vauban's absence, by the enemy under William III. This web site features numerous images [some large versions available for download] of the immense plan-relief made of the city in the 18thC, and which can be seen today in the Museum of Plans-Reliefs in Paris [see top of page] .
The City and Fortress of Luxembourg - this site contains many graphics & maps of the extensive defenses erected here over the centuries. Luxembourg was once known as the "Gibraltar of the North". Vauban was much occupied here improving it's defenses, which included the excavation of many underground casemates. Most of the main European powers had possession of Luxembourg at one time or other and so the place, a World Heritage Site, boasts fortifications built by the French, Spanish, Austrians & Prussians. These and a modern plan-relief are all featured in detail at this web site.
Le Circuit Vauban
- an academic Website devoted to a number of connected projects concerning
the fortifications [both town defences & outworks] at Luxembourg.
Through this site the visitor can contact an association which
is gathering research material on Luxembourg's many & fascinating
defence works - and not just those of Vauban's. The city was fortified
by Spanish, Dutch, French, Prussian [see left] and Austrian Engineers.
Archive of 17th Century Dutch City Plans - another amazing site. This one is full of 17th century Dutch city plans showing detail of their fortifications. There are also a number of articles on the history of these places [Dutch only]. But be warned, this link is to a huge index file which will take several minutes to download. Be patient, it is more than worth the wait.
The Netherlands Fortification Museum
- the museum is sited in one of the bastions of the fortified town of Naarden,
once an intrisic part of the 17thC Hollandse Waterlinie [Water Defence Line].
The very impressive fortress has survived largely intact down to
the present day. The museum's website carries full details of
opening times, re-enactments of fortress artillery firing,
and what can be obtained in the museum shop.
The Dutch Waterline Fortifications - a website maintained by students at the University of Utrecht. It carries extensive details of the waterline which was a large tract of land to be flooded in times of invasion. It was used to great effect to stop Louis XIV's otherwise inexorable advance on Amsterdam in the 1670's. The site has many excellent photos and some superb original illlustrations and maps. "Check it out" as they say!
The City and Fortress of Alessandria - many fine old photos of this fortress city in Northern Italy.
The City and Fortress of Lucca - Lucca, a city in Tuscany [N. Italy], has a very important place in the development of artillery fortifications. This site features some thumbnail graphics together with a large & impressive aerial view of the whole fortress.
The Fortress of Brescia - a splendid site charting the development of this fortress over many centuries and under the influence of several different countries. Brescia is near the southern end of Lake Garda in N.Italy. It was one of the four forts in the much vaunted Austrian Quadrilateral defense network with which Napoleon had to contend in 1796.
The Fortress Study Group - this organisation has been active for many years and boasts the support of respected authors like Andrew Saunders. It is to be hoped it's web master will expand the site significantly. At present there are only a few pages with some interesting [if unlabeled] photographs.
Elvas HomePage - some very good photos of this very impressive Portuguese fortress which, as it is strategically situated on the border with Spain, featured prominently in the Peninsular War [c1808-1812].
The Martello Towers of the South Coast - as
the name suggests, a site devoted to Britain's Martello Towers. This is
a splendid site containing a complete database of information on all
of the towers built in Britain during the French Revolutionary &
Napoleonic Wars - plus numerous images and animated illustrations.
The Palmerston Forts Society - as the name suggests, a site dedicated to the forts constructed for the defence of Britain in the middle part of the 19th Century - a time of invasion scares prompted by British concern that Napoleon III was looking to emulate his Great Uncle's military career.
The Game of Fortresses - a site which reproduces a set of playing cards produced in 1763 for the students of Louis XVI's Ecole Militaire. These summarise the art and science of fortress constuction in the 18th century. As such it constitutes a valuable contemporary reference source. The site is very new [created 1.1.98] and will grow as the year progresses. It is a site you will probably want to visit periodically as more and more "card images" are added.
The Reconstructed Fortress of Louisbourg
Institute of Louisbourg
Napoleonic Literature