Sébastien le Prestre, Marquis de Vauban (1633-1707), General Commissioner for Fortifications under Louis XIV, was the architect of the King's "pré carré", protecting the kingdom with a double line of fortifications along the borders.
He was responsible for the construction or improvement of more than 300 strongholds, as well as for numerous memoirs on the internal and external policies of France.
A little history
Following the 1692 raid by Victor-Amédée II, Vauban proposed to improve the defense of the Alpine border. The place was named Mont-Dauphin in honor of the king's son, the Grand Dauphin.
Completed in the 19th century, it was never besieged. In 1713, the Italian border moved away, removing any strategic dimension from it. The only act of arms to be deplored in three centuries was the bombing of a wing of the arsenal during the Second World War.
Visit
Behind its pink marble ramparts, the visitor can see the barracks where the soldiers of Louis XIV lived, the watchtowers on the hillside where they kept watch, the powder magazine, the arsenal where they kept weapons and gunpowder.
The village is finally very unusual because 170 inhabitants live, like everyone else, but in an extraordinary setting of southern sun, dazzling snow, silence and stones loaded with history.
From the rampart, you will be able to observe the strategic node of valleys, the mountains of Queyras with numerous hikes, the ski resorts of Vars and Risoul, the glaciers of the 4,000m Ecrins massif.
Mont-Dauphin, with 12 other sites, is part of the network of major sites of Vauban and is twinned with Mont-Louis, thus forming the "twins of the Sun King".
The fortified village of Mont-Dauphin is on UNESCO's World Heritage List as one of Vauban's fortifications.
Fortress of Mont-Dauphin
Pavilion of the Clock,
Place Vauban,
05600 Mont-Dauphin
Tel. : 04 92 45 42 40
http://www.place-forte-montdauphin.fr/
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