Mont Dauphin, Vauban and Maurice

Why should I, a peaceful plant lover, write an article about French military forts and his architect Vauban? Well, when I drive or walk through the French Alps, I am constantly confronted with immense buildings in the most beautiful and impossible places, which, like those immense mountains, gaze at me and, yes, fascinate me. And I have to admit, many of those buildings harmonize nicely with those great Alps.
I am also confronted with it because I like to walk at border crossings and, of course, those forts were built there, in order to protect the native population from those aggressive miscreants across the street.

My visit

The fortified city of Mont-Dauphin near Guillestre is an impressive example of this. On my way to the French Queyras and the Italian Monte Viso often passed by, and now returning with motorhome from the Italian Chianale I drove up there. It was well marked but still I had to search because you could only get on it by a detour, along the back. Rather logical because the first tourist was not supposed to walk in there whistling. On top of that rock there is now an immense parking available to receive thousands of tourists, although at the end of June there was not a lot of tourists to notice. Luckily for me, I was able to conquer the various canals and towers without bloodshed. I even got the time to enjoy the many rocks and other plants on the walls and rocks, which blossom abundantly here.

#MontDauphin is now a beautiful, peaceful place, with picturesque, albeit straightforward streets, several restaurants and historic buildings such as the clock pavilion, some old cheeses, several gates and even a church, whose construction was never completely completed. I myself visited the herb house, just because of his name. The herb house was not a herb house, but of course a warehouse of ammunition, that building was largely underground to prevent the damage caused by grenade shots.

Mont Dauphin History

Mont-Dauphin was built between 1694 and 1704 by Vauban in a strategic location. It is an outpost in the defense of the French kingdom against Italian raids. After the attack of Victor-Amédée II of Savoy in 1662, Louis XIV realised that the French border near the Alps is not sufficiently protected. Vauban is appointed and chooses the Mille Vents plateau for the construction of the fortified city of Mont-Dauphin, assuming that there will be both a military and a civilian population. The name is chosen in honor of the dauphin, the crown prince.

The place was so deterrent that it was never besieged. In 1713 the Italian border was moved further from the village by the Treaty of Utrecht. The garrison and the population are no longer growing. The city has only one feat: an Italian bombardment in 1940 that caused a fire. In 1966, the fortified city became a historical monument. Also the fact that so complex forts were built, which quickly became obsolete and are now only tourist attractions, attracts me. Vauban as a builder of some kind of amusement parks.

#Vauban

Not that Mr Vauban was not a serious or intelligent person. On the contrary. His name was Sébastien le Preste, but later became Marquis of Vauban (1633-1707). He was of 'low nobility, 'is enlisted by the insurgents of Condé, but is captured and then entered the service of the king. In 1654 he successfully led his first siege and was honored for this. In 1655 he became a military engineer and in 1678 he was responsible for the reinforcements of the kingdom. He travels, inspects the borders and protects them with fortresses, forming the kingdom. He is responsible for the construction or improvement of more than 300 cities. Nine of these are creations by Vauban, such as the Mont-Dauphin.

Vauban has led 48 successful sieges and is therefore also considered the best 'city conqueror' of his time. His talent as a strategist and engineer enables him to improve the fortifications built by his predecessors. Through his travels, he collects economic, social and geographical knowledge about France and writes on various subjects: the attack and defence of cities, forestry and inland navigation. He is even socially moved, acknowledges the poverty of the people and even writes La Dîme Royale in 1706, denouncing the unfair tax system and advocating the abolition of the privileges of the rich, rejected by Louis XIV.

All this information and much more can be found at the well-kept info-centre just inside the gate of Briançon. I myself studied the information on the inner course of a small restaurant Le Galet, where it was nice to sit and eat. Particularly, a fortress of violence where now there is such a peaceful peace.