Left
Entrance to Mont Louis via thethe ravelin in front of the hornwork.
Marshal Vauban WebsiteMaintained by : Chris Jones of Altofts, Wakefield, U.K. © September 1997
The Fortress of Mont Louis - Rousillon:
This page last updated : 14 March 1998
Mont Louis, at 1600m above sea level, is a claimant to the title of the highest fortified town in France. Two other towns fortified by Vauban, Briançon & Mont Dauphin, both in the French Alps, covet the title also. Situated on one of the three chief roads joining Roussillon & Spain, Mont Louis bars access from the Cerdagne valley into the narrow descent that carries the road down to Villefranch-de-conflent and on then to Perpignan.
History records Vauban finally settled on the location of the fortress having been impressed by the good health & fine teeth of the inhabitants of nearby villages. Vauban was always conscious of the health of his men, it was second nature to him to avoid locating a fortress in an unhealthy site [compare with the impressive but malaria ridden fortress of Mantua in N Italy].
Left
Entrance to Mont Louis via the
the ravelin in front of the hornwork.
Click on image to see larger version.
The fortress of Mont Louis consists of a citadel which is a near-regular
polygon with a bastion in each corner. Extending from one face
of this citadel is an elongated hornwork which encloses the town
of Mont Louis. This hornwork sports three bastions with two demi-lunes
[ravelins]. A large demi-lune stands between the center &
right bastions and carries the road into the town. The entrance
to the outer part of this demi-lune can be seen in the images
at the top of this page. A smaller demi-lune stands between the
left & center bastions.
In addition to the access via the larger demi-lune in front of the hornwork, another road leads directly into the citadel at the far end from the town and again traverses a demi-lune. There is also an entrance to the citadel from within the hornwork, yet again via a demi-lune [albeit one without a ditch in front of it - there is one between it & the citadel]. There is a sizable glacis before the citadel which extends into the area enclosed within the hornwork. An unusual feature of the covered way separating citadel & town is that it has a permanent loopholed stone wall, i.e. instead of a wooden palisade.
The town of Mont Louis is not large. The part of it which stands within the fortress - a lot of buildings have sprung up outside in more recent times - would perhaps only rate as a village were it not for the importance of the place. However, it has a fine church and two wells.
There are also substantial barrack buildings, especially within the citadel. It is worth noting that both within the hornwork & citadel the rear walls of many buildings back immediately onto the rear of the ramparts. They also stand proud of the ramparts to a height of some two storeys. Projecting outward from the face of these walls are substantial brick bulwarks which bisect the ramparts. These serve to limit the effect of enemy ricochet fire - a process invented by Vauban himself whereby cannon were cited in enfilade of a rampart so as to have their shot bound along it's whole length, smashing guns & men as it went.
The fact that the fortress of Mont Louis survives almost intact to this day must largely be due to the fact the citadel still houses a working base for the French Army. It is home to the 10th Commando Regiment and houses a center for guerrilla warfare training. Accordingly, the military are very much in evidence - there are scramble nets over the ramparts in places and some days the surrounding peaks reverberate to the sound of gunfire and other explosions.
1659 By the Treaty of the Pyrénées, the province of Catalunia is
partitioned. France takes possession of the portion North of the
Pyrénées and Spain the portion to the South.
1661 The French & Spanish hold a conference at Céret to properly delineate
their mutual frontier in the Pyrénées.
1663 Renewed hostilities with Spain.
1667 French under Douvrier repulse Spanish raid at Bellegarde.
1669 Vauban makes his first tour of Roussillon; he visits Perpignan,
Collioure, Bellegarde & Villefranche-de-Conflent.
1679 On a second tour of Roussillon, this time as Commissaire général des
Fortifications, Vauban chooses the site on which to build the fortress
of Mont Louis - in the part of Roussillon known as The Cerdagne.
1680 Vauban makes a third voyage to Roussillon, accompanied by the Chief
Minister Louvois. They visit all the important sites of the region.
Work is begun on the garrison chapel at Mont Louis.
1681 The first governor of Mont Louis, François de Fortin Durban, is
entrusted with the keys of it's citadel.
1682 Christian Rousselot de Monceaux, Roussillon's Directeur des
fortifications, oversees the work on Mont Louis, much of which is
accomplished by the close of the year.
1687 Vauban makes his last tour of Roussillon.
1691 The fortress of Mont Louis is finally completed.
1694 Vauban suggests that Mont Louis be dismantled as part of a scheme to
cede the Cerdagne to Spain in return for the offer of peace. This is
not acted upon.
1707 Vauban dies in Paris.
1793 As the French Revolution is in full swing, Mont Louis is twice renamed.
It becomes Mont-Libre in January and Mont-Liberté on the 8th of April.
1797 Death of General Dagobert. His death occurs while he is on Spanish soil
but is at least attributable to numerous wounds sustained while
campaigning in the Cerdagne and elsewhere in Roussillon. He is laid to
rest along-side his fellow General, Dugomier, in Perpignan. A monument
is later raised to Dagobert in Mont Louis. It stands in the main
square, in front of the church.
1804 The name of Mont Louis is restored.
