Besancon Citadel

The Doubs makes a near-complete loop around Besancon, leaving a neck of about four hundred metres closed by a rock, and the Spanish began a citadel on that rock in 1668; after Franche-Comté passed to France in 1678, Vauban's design turned it into a fortress of eleven hectares with three successive defensive lines, finished by 1711. It is among the twelve Vauban sites inscribed together by UNESCO in 2008. The walls rise about a hundred metres above the river and the rampart walk gives the whole loop. Inside are a zoo, an insectarium and, more soberly, the Musee de la Resistance et de la Deportation, since the citadel was used by German forces as an execution site during the occupation. A Roman arch stands in the town below.

History

Mount Saint-Étienne closes the neck of the Doubs loop, a position whose strategic value Julius Caesar noted as early as 58 BC. Between 1668 and 1672 the Spanish began a modern citadel here, and some of their buildings were kept in the later fortress; after the Treaty of Nijmegen gave Franche-Comté to Louis XIV in 1678, the king had Vauban design the citadel, and work went on for some thirty years, so that by 1711 it was one of the strongest fortifications of its day. It was so costly that, the story goes, the king asked Vauban whether he was building the walls of gold (Wikipedia, Citadel of Besançon).

Highlights

• The three defensive lines - Vauban's successive walls across the neck.
• The rampart walk - the river loop and old city seen from a hundred metres up.
• The Resistance museum - a serious account of the occupation years.
• The Porte Noire - a second-century Roman arch in the town below.

When to go

April to October; the citadel opens year-round with shorter winter hours. The walk up from the old town is steep, and a shuttle runs in season. Allow most of a day for the museums.

Practical notes

The site is large with a lot of climbing and open ground. The zoo inside the citadel sits awkwardly with the historic fabric for some visitors. The Resistance museum is heavy and not suited to young children.

Nearby

Arc-et-Senans lies southwest; Ornans is south.

Key facts