Fort Carré

See Stade du Fort Carré for the sports stadium.

Fort Carré
Antibes, France
Fort Carré viewed from the south
Jean de Renaud's architectural design (the fortress was already built when Vauban made his contribution; he just added the wall around the fortress)
Fort Carré
Coordinates	43.590136943059434°N 7.126951565284516°E / 43.590136943059434; 7.126951565284516
Type	Fort
Site information
Owner	Museum
Controlled by	France
Open to the public	Yes
Site history
Built	1553

Fort Carré, often Fort Carré d'Antibes, is a 16th-century star-shaped fort of four arrow-head shaped bastions, that stands on a 26-meter high promontory inAntibes, France. Jean de Renaud, a military engineer, is thought to have built the fort during the reign of Henry II. During the 17th century, the Marquis de Vauban redeveloped it.

History

The Romans probably built the first fortifications at Antibes.

Context

In the 16th century, Provence belonged to the Kingdom of France while the County of Nice depended on the Duchy of Savoy, the border being formed by the Var river. The tensions between the Kingdom of France and the Duchy of Savoy stemmed from the alliance of the latter with the Habsburg Spain. During the Italian wars, the Spaniards sacked Antibes in 1524 and 1536, underscoring the weakness of this region’s defenses.

The south-east of Provence was therefore a tense border zone that the kings of France fortified from the reign of François I onwards. Henry II decided to undertake the construction of the fort at its strategic location: the building operated as a sentinel, providing a vantage point from which to monitor the border with the Duchy of Savoy.

Construction

In 1553, a tower called la tour Saint-Florent was built around a preexisting chapel. There is no surviving documentation on the construction, but Jean de Renaud is viewed as the engineer in charge of construction. Henry III had four bastions added in 1565, whereupon it became Fort Carré (the square fort). The initial construction lasted about 25 years.

In the 1680s, Vauban strengthened Fort Carré, adding traverses to protect against ricochet fire and exchanging the stone parapets, which were liable to scatter deadly splinters when hit by shot, for brick ones. Vauban also enlarged the embrasures and added outer walls to the fortification.

Later, the fort's design was modified to accommodate eighteen cannon. The entrance to the fort is through a triangular work that protrudes from the walls, and which is loopholed and pierced by a heavy wooden door. From here, there is a narrow bridge that leads into the fort itself via the flank of one of the arrow-headed bastions. Inside, there are barrack buildings for officers and men as well as the ancient chapel, which has been preserved through the successive stages of military development of the site.

In addition to improving the defences of Fort Carré, Vauban fortified Antibes itself, adding a land front of four arrow-headed bastions around the town, as well as seaward fortifications, including a bastion on the breakwater closing the harbor.

Military events

Though the use of Fort Carré as a defensive installation spans more than three centuries, it was only attacked twice:

• In 1591, during the wars of religion, Duke Charles-Emmanuel I of Savoy made a breakthrough in Provence and took the stronghold of Antibes without a fight. The French army launched by Henri IV to reconquer Provence laid siege to Antibes and its fort in 1592. The Duke of Épernon who led the siege retook the town and the fort. This is the only known military capture of Fort Carré;
• In 1746 - 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession, Fort Carré and Antibes were bombarded by Austro-Sardinian artillery and the English fleet, but the stronghold held the siege.

During the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte was briefly imprisoned there. In July 1794, after the violent overthrow of Robespierre, General Bonaparte was detained as a Jacobin sympathizer and held in Fort Carré for ten days. His friend and political ally, Antoine Christophe Saliceti, secured his release.

Decommissioning

The 19th century marked a turning point with the annexation of Nice to France in 1860 as well as a major modification of the armament which made Fort Carré obsolete. The stronghold of Antibes and Fort Carré were decommissioned at the beginning of the 20th century, and part of the city ramparts were demolished. Soldiers were stationed there briefly during the First World War. Its last use in a military context dates to the Second World War: Fort Carré served, during the occupation, as a gathering center for foreigners for all the Alpes-Maritimes.

The fort was listed as a historical monument in 1906.

• 
  Harbor view
• 
  Metropolitan view
• 
  Courtyard, east side
• 
  Southern point

In popular culture

Fort Carré appears as the villain's fortress in the James Bond film, Never Say Never Again (1983).